UC-NRLF 


one  of  these  four  ends  conduce : 
,  delight,  or  use." 

Sir  J.  DENHAM. 


COUNTRY  SERIES. 


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BEN   MILNER'S   WOOING.     By  HOLME  LEE. 
SYRIAN   SUNSHINE.     By  THOMAS  G.  APPLETON. 

A  WINTER   STORY.     By  the  author  of  "  The  Rose 
Garden." 

FROM       TRADITIONAL       TO       RATIONAL 

FAITH ;    OR,   THE   WAY   I   CAME   FROM   BAPTIST  TO    LIB 
ERAL  CHRISTIANITY.      By  R.  ANDREW  GRIFFIN. 

G.   T.   T. ;    OR,  THE  WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES    OF   A 
PULLMAN.    By  Rev.  E.  E.  HALE. 

ROBERTS  BROTHERS,  Publishers, 

BOSTON. 
SPRING  OF  1877. 


'TOWN    AND    COUNTRY    SERIES." 

BEN    MILNER'S  WOOING. 

BY  HOLME    LEE. 


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BOSTON. 


TOWN  AND   COUNTRY  SERIES. 


G.  T.  T.; 

OR, 

THE    WONDERFUL    ADVENTURES    OF    A 
PULLMAN. 


IT   IS  A   VERY   GOOD   OFFICE   ONE    MAN    DOES    ANOTHER,   WHEN    HE    TELLS 
HIM   THE   MANNER   OF   HIS   BEING   PLEASED." 

Sir  Richard  Steele. 


G.   T.   T.; 


OR, 


THE  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES   OF 
A   PULLMAN. 


BY 

EDWARD   E.   HALE. 


BOSTON: 
ROBERTS     BROTHERS. 

1877. 


Copyright,  1877, 
BY  ROBERTS  BROTHERS. 


955 


PREFACE. 


MORE  than  a  generation  ago,  a  common  joke — 
one  of  the  commonest — represented  that  when 
an  insolvent  debtor,  or  a  rough  who  had  been 
engaged  in  an  "unpleasantness,"  or  any  other 
loafer  who  had  changed  his  home,  wished  to  leave 
warning  behind  him  where  he  had  gone,  he 
chalked  upon  his  door  the  letters 

G.  T.  T. 

These  letters  were  in  no  sort  mysterious.  They 
meant  and  were  understood  to  mean,  "  Gone  to 
Texas." 

Old  enough  to  remember  their  use,  when  they 
were  quite  as  intelligible  as  A.S.S.  or  LL.D., 
I  have  been  amused  and  surprised  to  see  that 
this  generation  does  not  know  what  they  mean, 
and  that  a  word  of  preface  is  needed  to  explain. 
I  was  so  simple,  and  so  far  gone  in  years,  that 
when  I  announced  the  title  to  this  book  I  sup 
posed  all  America  would  know, —  all  America 
would  have  known  thirty  years  ago,  —  what  these 


PREFACE. 


letters  mean.   I  had  no  thought  of  a  secret  society 
or  of  other  cabala. 

For  myself  I  had  an  early  interest  in  Texas. 
The  first  pamphlet  I  ever  published  —  and  that, 
I  see,  was  a  generation  ago  —  was  an  appeal  to 
New  England  men  and  women  to  emigrate  to 
Texas.  It  was  printed  in  the  month  of  March, 
1845.  I  had  heard  at  Washington,  that  winter, 
most  of  the  great  debates  in  which  the  annexa 
tion  of  Texas,  and  so  much  more  of  the  later 
history  of  the  country,  were  decided  on.  I  re 
turned  to  Massachusetts,  convinced  that  the 
simplest  solution  of  the  southern  question  was 
in  a  vigorous  and  large  emigration  of  northern 
men  into  that  New  Empire,  to  whose  fortunes 
ours  had  been  linked  by  the  resolutions  of  annex 
ation.  And  so  I  wrote  and  published  the  little 
pamphlet  of  which  I  speak,  under  the  title  "  How 
to  conquer  Texas  before  Texas  conquers  us."  It 
was  an  eager  appeal  for  emigration.  At  that 
time  I  should  have  been  glad  to  join  any  colony 
which  would  have  tried  that  adventure. 

But,  so  far  as  I  learned,  no  other  New  Eng- 
lander  wanted  to  go.  The  great  part  of  the  only 
edition  of  my  modest  pamphlet  remains  unsold 
on  my  hands.  The  law,  not  then  well  under 
stood,  was  yet  true,  —  that  freemen  would  not 


PREFACE.  Vll 


emigrate  into  a  slave  State,  unless  they  had 
slaves  to  take  with  them.  It  was  as  true  as  was 
the  other  law  that  slave-holders  would  not  emi 
grate  into  neutral  territory.  The  emigration 
into  Texas,  never  very  rapid  before  the  war, 
went  on  with  all  the  difficulties  which  check 
emigration  into  regions  which  permit  the  insti 
tution  of  slavery. 

The  truth  of  the  principle,  that  organized 
emigration  is  the  best  method,  if  indeed  it  is  not 
the  only  method,  by  which  an  old  community 
can  direct  the  policy  of  a  new  State,  was  left  to 
be  verified  in  1854  and  1855,  by  the  organization 
of  the  Emigrant  Aid  Company,  and  the  coloni 
zation  of  Kansas  under  the  admirable  lead  of 
Mr.  Eli  Thayer.  The  great  issue  was  then  first 
made  on  a  fair  field,  and  the  great  battle  was 
then  first  won.  As  an  officer  of  that  company, 
I  had  some  correspondence  with  the  German 
free-state  men  in  Texas. 

Having  taken  this  sort  of  personal  interest  in 
Texas  long  ago,  I  had  always  hoped  to  see  for 
myself  the  beauties  of  a  region  which  all  people 
unite  in  praising.  By  a  queer  accident,  such  as 
will  happen  even  to  writers  who  are  "not  too 
bold,"  it  turned  out,  unexpectedly  to  me,  that  a 
hero  of  mine,  named  Philip  Nolan,  had  a  god- 


Vlll  PREFACE. 


father  of  the  same  name,  who  really  opened  up 
Texas  to  American  discovery  and  adventure  in 
the  year  1801.  I  gladly  embraced  a  favorable 
opportunity  to  go  in  person,  over  the  routes  of 
his  adventure  there ;  and  in  this  little  story  I  have 
detailed  some  of  the  modest  adventures  of  travel 
lers  in  Texas  in  these  later  times.  Let  me  hope 
that  the  little  book  may  tempt  some  invalid  to 
whom  is  recommended  a  milder  winter  than  ours 
in  Norumbega,  to  go  to  dear  San  Antonio,  rather 
than  to  try  the  rough  sea  waves,  —  exile  from 
country,  —  and  the  grausome  horrors  of  a  foreign 
language  in  Mentone  or  at  Nice.  Nor  let  any 
such  unknown  friend  be  deterred  by  the  dangers 
which  threatened  Effie  and  Hester  on  the  prai 
ries.  The  railroad  to  San  Antonio  has  been 
finished  since  they  were  there ;  and  "  beauty  in 
distress,"  may  now  go  from  Halifax  to  "  San 
Antone  "  without  sullying  a  white  satin  slipper, 
if  she  pleases.  Beauty  in  distress  may  recline 
on  the  sofas  of  a  palace  car  all  the  way,  nor  leave 
one  palace  for  another,  but  under  the  shelter  of  a 
station. 

True,  to  do  this,  beauty  in  distress  must  not 
pass  through  Boston.  There  beauty  would  have 
to  be  transferred  by  cab  or  coach  from  station 
to  station.  If  we  found  that  necessary  at  Hearne 


PREFACE.  IX 


or  Hempstead,  as  it  is  not,  we  should  say,  "  So 
much  for  barbarous  Texas." 

The  emigration,  which  could  not  be  hurried  in 
1845,  is  now  pouring  into  Texas  in  an  unexampled 
stream.  The  population  doubles  every  five  years. 
Why  not  ?  The  climate  is  peerless.  The  soil 
seems  inexhaustible ;  the  policy  of  the  State  is 
such,  that  you  have  your  farm  for  the  asking. 
And  slavery —the  obstacle  that  stood  in  the  way 
thirty  years  ago  —  is  at  an  end  for  ever. 

"  Ten  years  hence,  we  will  tell  you  who  your 
President  will  be.  You  will  not  have  to  trouble 
yourselves  then."  This  is  the  joking  remark  of 
intelligent  Texan  gentlemen  now  to  northern 
travellers. 

Why  not  ?  The  population  of  Texas  is  now, 
at  least,  1,600,000.  If  it  is  3,000,000  in  1880, 
and  7,000,000  in  1887,  will  any  combination  of 
politics  choose  a  President  then  whom  Texas 
does  not  prefer  ? 

Since  these  sheets  began  to  pass  the  press,  I 
have  lighted  on  an  old  tract  by  Samuel  Sewall 
(the  judge  of  Whittier's  poem,  the  same  who 
hung  the  witches),  written  to  prove,  from  the 
irrefragable  evidence  of  the  books  of  Daniel  and 
the  Revelation,  that  in  Texas,  or,  as  he  calls  it, 
"  the  northern  part  of  the  province  of  Mexico,"  is 


X  PREFACE. 

the  seat  predestined  of  the  "New  Jerusalem,"  — 
the  site  of  the  city  which  was  to  descend  from 
heaven. 

Columbus  expected  to  find  it,  where  modern 
research  found  Pitcairn's  Island,  at  the  antipodes 
of  the  old  Jerusalem.  Quien  sabe  ? 

There  are  who  say  that  we  carry  heaven  with 
us,  and  I  believe  them.  If  so,  dear  reader,  may 
you  and  I  find  old  Sewall's  prophecy  good,  when 
next  we  take  a  Pullman  palace,  and 

G.  T.  T. 


EDWARD   E.   HALE. 


IN  THE  PALACE  "  PITTSFIELD," 
Lake  Shore  Railroad, 

Near  Ashtabula  Bridge, 
June  17,  ST.  BOTOLPH'S  DAY,  1877. 


G.   T.   T.; 


OR, 

THE   WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES   OF 
A   PULLMAN. 


CHAPTER   I. 

"  T    OWER  six,"  said  the  clerk. 

"•^ '     "  But  I  want  the  whole  section." 

"  Then  you  can  have  all  six ;  or,  if  you  please, 
all  of  seven." 

"Six  is  very  well;  how  much?"  said  she. 

This  little  dialogue  passed  at  the  window  of 
the  Palace  Car  Office  at  the  Jersey  side  of  the 
river,  at  the  station  of  Tom  Scott's  railroad, 
which  begins  at  Jersey  City  and  from  that  point 
goes  —  everywhere. 

She  was  Hester  Sutphen,  the  heroine  of  this 
little  story. 

The  clerk  is  not  the  hero.  We  shall  never, 
never  hear  of  him  again  unless  we  go  somewhere 
by  that  route,  and  he  says  "Lower  six"  to  us,  as 
we  will  hope. 

For,  as  all  travellers  know,  six  and  seven  are 
two  of  the  best  possible  sections  in  a  Pullman's 


WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


Palace.  There  is  no  difference  between  six  and 
five  if  the  even  numbers  are  on  one  side  and  the 
odd  on  another.  About  other  numbers  you  may 
be  confused,  but  not  about  five,  six,  seven,  and 
eight.  They  cannot  be  over  the  wheels,  nor  next 
the  stove,  nor  next  the  door. 

Now,  if  you  are  to  live  in  a  Palace,  what  right 
have  you  to  ask  any  thing  else  than  that  you  shall 
not  be  over  the  wheels,  or  next  the  stove,  or  near 
the  door  ? 

Certainly  Hester  Sutphen  asked  nothing  else. 
She  returned  to  her  companion,  Euphemia,  told 
her  that  all  was  well,  and,  now  that  they  were 
sure  of  that,  they  went  to  breakfast  together. 
Although  this  story  is  written  by  the  most  faith 
ful  disciple  of  Jacob  Abbott  in  the  art  of  story 
telling,  the  reader  will  not  be  informed  of  what 
the  breakfast  consisted.  Other  breakfasts,  as 
well  as  dinners  and  suppers,  will  be  described  in 
their  order.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  they  were 
in  that  admirable  station  house  which  Mr.  Tom 
Scott,  whoever  he  may  be  (I  have  not  the  slight 
est  idea),  or  some  subordinate  of  his,  has  erected 
on  the  Jersey  side,  to  the  delight  of  all  New  Eng- 
landers  who  travel,  and  to  the  equal  disgust  of 
the  oyster  dealers  on  the  North  River  side  of  the 
city  of  New  York.  For  the  New  Englanders  who 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


go  West  and  South  are  now  able  to  have  a  good 
breakfast  and  to  engage  good  sleeping  berths  also, 
and  -the  oystermen  lose  the  opportunity,  which 
they  once  had,  of  asking  the  travelling  wise  men 
from  the  East  what  are  the  relations  between  the 
true,  the  good,  and  the  beautiful. 

They  went  to  breakfast  (the  girls  — not  the 
oystermen),  then  they  took  as  interesting  a  walk 
as  they  could  in  Jersey  City — which  is  not  so 
very  entertaining  a  place  when  you  do  not  know 
where  to  go,  and  cross  boys  are  just  opening  the 
shops  — then  they  returned  to  the  great  wait 
ing-room  and  bought  a  "Tribune"  and  looked  at 
some  Sisters  of  Charity. 

They  wanted  to  buy  a  "  Herald,"  but  were  afraid 
this  would  not  look  reputable  for  lone  ladies. 

Then  the  great  door  opened,  and  they  were  per 
mitted  to  go  to  their  Palace.  The  Palace  was 
named  the  "Golconda."  They  were  the  first  in 
mates  who  that  day  entered  its  halls. 

"Oh,  my  queen!"  cried  Hester.  "You  are  at 
last  in  the  Palace  which  is  to  be  your  home- 
who  shall  say  how  long  ?  Here,  great  princess, 
is  your  throne,"  and  she  pointed  to  the  eastern 
seat  of  Six.  "Behold  in  me  the  humblest  of 
your  subjects." 

"Well,  dear  subject,"  said  Erne,  laughing,  "I 


8  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

don't  know  how  to  act  very  well.  Could  you 
hang  up  this  strap — and  where  in  the  world  do 
you  put  your  umbrella  in  a  Palace  ?" 

For  Effie  Abgar  had  never  been  in  a  Palace 
before.  Hester,  as  you  have  seen,  had  more  ex 
perience.  Hester,  indeed,  was  the  experienced 
person  of  this  party  in  American  travel.  For 
Hester  had  once  gone  from  New  Ipswich  to 
Niagara  Falls,  and  from  Niagara  Falls  she  had 
gone  back  to  New  Ipswich. 

On  this  occasion  Hester  was  on  her  way  to 
San  Antonio,  in  Texas,  with  the  intention  of 
opening  there  a  school,  or  as  the  habit  of  that 
country  calls  it,  an  "Academy"  for  young  ladies, 
if  she  found  a  good  opening.  If  she  did  not  find 
it,  she  proposed  to  look  for  another.  For  Hester 
was  tired  of  stoves  and  furnaces,  of  coal  bills  and 
wood  bills,  of  dirty  hands  and  smoking  chimneys, 
and  the  thousand  other  annoyances  which  wait 
on  the  latitude  of  forty-three  on  the  Atlantic  sea 
board.  And  Hester  was  a  born  lover  of  flowers 
also.  She  had  that  "  sixth  sense," — for  a  sixth 
sense  it  is, — by  which  some  people  love  flowers 
for  flowers'  sake ;  not  because  they  are  pretty,  or 
sweet  to  smell,  or  graceful,  or  suggestive,  or  ob 
jective,  or  subjective;  nor  because  they  are 
cheap;  nor  because  they  are  the  "fugitive  poetry 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


of  nature" — nor  for  any  other  reason  which  can 
be  assigned  —  but  because  they  are  flowers.  And 
so  it  had  happened  that  when  in  the  autumn  of 
the  last  year,  after  the  armistice  of  a  summer 
vacation,  the  battle  of  life  began  again  for  Hester 
Sutphen  and  she  went  loyally  to  her  guns,  she 
had  said  to  herself  —  and  in  her  journal  she  had 
written  —  reverently  and  carefully: 

"As  the  Lord  liveth  —  if  mamma  is  well  next 
spring,  and  George  and  Hattie,  and  the  children 
—  if  all  seems  to  be  doing  well  here,  I  will  Go  TO 
TEXAS  to  prospect  in  the  spring,  and  I  will  not 
spend  the  next  winter  here." 

All  this  she  had  written  with-  extra  care  in  her 
diary — and  it  was  all  she  did  write  that  night. 
"Prospect"  was  her  little  joke.  The  next  night 
she  wrote,  in  a  less  formal  hand,  "  Wrote  to  Effie 
to  coax  her  to  G.  T.  T.  with  me.  If  she  will  go 
it  will  be  perfect." 

And  Effie  had  determined  to  go.  She  had  no 
idea  of  staying  there ;  but  she  was  glad  of  the 
chance  of  the  journey.  Effie  had  been  hard  at 
work  in  her  studio  all  the  winter,  drawing  and 
painting — that  was  a  joy  and  delight  to  her — 
and  trying  to  teach  other  people  to  draw  and 
paint  —  that  was  not  so  satisfactory.  Effie  was 
delighted  at  the  prospect  of  beginning  out-door 


10  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

work  near  two  months  earlier  than  would  be  pos 
sible  in  Boston  latitudes.  She  arranged  with  the 
other  teachers  and  with  Philip — packed  her 
charcoals  and  her  tubes  of  colors  — met  Hester 
when  the  hour  came,  at  the  Providence  station  in 
Boston  — and  thus  they  came  to  be  at  Jersey 
City,  as  you  have  been  told. 

It  is  always  interesting  to  be  the  first  occupant 
of  an  empty  Palace.     I  suppose  Queen  Victoria 
and  Pope  Pius  and  Dom  Pedro  have  learned  that. 
But  many  other  people  have  learned  it  also,  whose 
heads  have  never  chafed  under  crowns.     You  sit 
in  your  Palace  —  how  happy  if  you  have  "six"  or 
"seven"  to  sit  in  !  —  and  as  these  other  people 
come  in  for  a  moment  you  imagine  them  to  be 
subjects.     While  they  are  sitting  down,  they  are, 
for  their  instant  of   discomfort,  your  inferiors. 
Then  they  rise  to  be  your  peers,  as  they  also  as 
sume  their  thrones ;  and  they,  with  you,  examine 
the  new  subjects  as  they  enter.    Hester  and  Effie 
had  not  a  large  nor  a  very  interesting  troupe  of 
fellow-travellers.     There  was  a  man  with  a  sick 
wife ;  there  were  a  few  young  men  whom  the  ex 
perienced  Hester  pronounced  to  be  "drummers;" 
there  was  an  old  gentleman  who  put  himself  in  the 
wrong  car,  and  had  to  be  transferred  to  the  Xenia 
as  soon  as  the  tickets  were  shown ;  and  a  few  old 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  II 

ladies,  who  left  at  Trenton  or  other  Jersey  sta 
tions.  "Rather  a  humdrum  set,"  said  Hester. 
But  to  both  the  girls  it  was  all  new ;  and  both  of 
them  were  ready,  from  every  chance,  to  make  an 
adventure  for  a  novel. 

I  have  called  them  "girls."  Will  they  ever  for 
give  me?  But  how  can  I  call  them  "young 
women"  ?  Did  I  not  hold  them  both  at  the  font 
in  my  arms  ? 

They  brought  out  their  novels.  Hester  had 
"The  Strange  Adventures  of  a  Phaeton,"  that 
charming  story  of  Black's  which  lends  its  name 
to  our  little  tale.  If  only  "  the  mantel-piece  of 
my  predecessor  would  fall  upon  my  head ! " 
Effie  had  —  no  matter  what.  She  read  next  to 
nothing.  Her  sketch  book  took  her  off  from  her 
reading.  The  droll  old  Jersey  farmer  asleep  on 
his  throne;  the  picturesque  newsboys  at  New 
ark  ;  the  two  stone  posts  of  the  college— is  it  a 
college?  —  at  Brunswick ; — just  a  hint  of  this  and 
a  hint  of  that,  when  the  time  would  be  up,  and 
the  train  would  dash  away,  and  Effie  had  to  take 
her  chances  of  remembering  the  unfinished  cor 
ners  of  her  memory  sketch.  She  took  out  her 
Prince's  Patent  Protean  Pen  —  invaluable  re 
source  of  the  traveller.  The  blessing  of  a  Palace 
on  Tom  Scott's  roads,  or  Commodore  Vander- 


12  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

bilt's,  is  that  he  who  rides  can  not  only  read  but 
write.  And  so  Effie  was  able  to  write  her  first 
letter  home.  No  !  it  is  not  worth  while  to  copy 
it.  Though,  really,  this  story  would  be  best 
written  if  I  copied  all  of  those  two  girls'  letters  ; 
and  I  have  a  great  mind  to.  I  will  give  you  just 
a  scrap  of  this  one,  but  I  will  not  promise  any 
more. 

ON  THE  WING,  March  28,  '76. 
DEAR   OLD   PHIL, — 

.  .  .  After  eating  our  breakfast  we  went  out  to 
see  the  lions  of  Jersey  City  ;  and  we  found  it  a  most 
interesting  place.  They  have  wooden  awnings  in 
front  of  the  shops.  We  saw  a  whole  calf  in  a 
butcher's  shop,  with  his  head  and  feet  off,  and  his 
hair  on  —  quite  grisly  to  look  at.  Also  we  saw  some 
Balm  of  Gilead  trees.  On  the  whole,  it  is  a  good 
deal  like  Chelsea.  The  country  is  charming  as  we 
ride.  I  like  the  Jersey  flats  near  Newark,  which 
make  me  think  a  little  of  the  country  Millet  drew. 
The  browns  and  yellows  were  interesting  and  relieved 
by  a  good  deal  of  spring  color  as  we  came  on.  The 
wheat  is  coming  up,  and  we  have  seen  a  little  green 
grass,  bright  green  in  some  places.  The  willows  are 
coming  on,  and  I  do  not  doubt  that  we  should  have 
found  flowers  if  we  could  have  looked  for  them. 

And  so  on. 

The  mailing  of  this  letter  gave  rise  to  a  little 
adventure.  The  drummers  in  the  car  somehow 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  13 

sat  together,  —  a  little  further  front  than  these 
two  girls.  As  they  sat,  the  high  backs  of  their 
seats  protected  them  in  a  measure  from  the  view 
of  people  behind,  and  so  it  was  that  Hester  could 
not  see  at  all  and  Effie  only  see  in  part  the  pro 
file  of  a  young  face  turned  away  from  the  window 
and  looking  down  on  a  book.  Effie  made  Hester 
draw  close  to  her,  that  she  might  see  this  finely 
chiselled  profile  and  the  pretty  fall  of  the  girl's 
eyelids  as  she  read.  Then  she  began  speculating 
as  to  how  they  should  get  acquainted,  how  this 
poor  girl  could  be  rescued  from  that  crowd  of 
men  who  surrounded  her.  The  gap  through 
which  they  saw  her  closed  up  in  a  moment  more, 
as  one  of  the  drummers  'put  his  hat  on ;  so  the 
girls  could  not  see  the  pretty  face  any  longer. 

"  Only  it  was  not  pretty,"  said  Effie.  "  I  never 
said  it  was  pretty ;  I  said  it  was  fine." 

"  Fine  or  pretty,  Effie,  she  must  have  a  name 
all  the  same.  I  shall  call  her  Fanny,  Fanny  Mac 
Pherson." 

"  Fanny  fiddlestick !  She  shall  be  named  Price, 
Fanny  Price." 

"  As  if  we  were  at  Mansfield  Park  indeed !  She 
is  not  a  Fanny  Price  at  all.  I  will  give  up  the 
Fanny,  if  you  like,  but  never  the  MacPherson. 
Honora  MacPherson.  How  will  that  do?" 


14  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  motion  among  the 
drummers.  He  who  was  nearest  the  passage, 
rose,  stretched  his  arms  and  yawned,  and  took 
down  his  hat.  Honora  MacPherson  did  the  same 
and  took  down  hers,  and,  to  the  disgust  of  Effie 
and  the  delight  of  Hester,  stepped  out  with  his 
companion,  a  vigorous,  well-formed  man  with  an 
Ulster  on.  All  that  the  girls  had  seen  was  the 
rather  well-cut  profile,  and  from  that  they  had 
constructed  their  romance.  As  the  day  passed 
the  company  of  the  drummers  diminished.  One 
left  the  train  at  Easton,  two  at  Philadelphia,  and 
one  somewhere  else.  Honora  MacPherson  and 
his  companion  in  "eleven"  remained  however, 
with  occasional  absences  in  the  smoking  car. 

When  Effie's  letter  was  finished,  as  they  drew 
up  at  Lancaster,  she  walked  forward  to  call  the 
porter  to  ask  him  to  post  it.  The  porter  was  not 
in  his  place.  She  came  back  with  it,  meaning  to 
look  for  him  at  the  other  end,  when  Honora  Mac 
Pherson  touched  his  hat  and  said, 

"  Shall  I  post  your  letter,  madam  ? " 

"  If  you  will  be  so  kind,"  said  she. 

And  these  were  the  first  words  they  ever  said 
to  each  other. 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  15 


CHAPTER   II. 

/T*HE  two  young  men  were  named  Haydock 
and  Brinkerhoff. 

Neither  of  them  was  named  Honora  MacPher- 
son,  nor  had  either  of  them  ever  known  any  one 
who  was  named  Honora  MacPherson. 

It  was  Frederic  Haydock  who  took  Effie's  letter 
and  posted  it.  It  is  an  open  question,  not  yet 
decided  by  casuists  or  writers  on  etiquette, 
whether  he  had  the  right,  or  had  not,  to  read  the 
address ;  or  whether,  having  the  right,  it  would 
be  quite  gentlemanly  for  him  to  read  it. 

For  the  true  gentleman  is  distinguished  by  his 
abating  something  from  his  right. 

However  this  may  be,  Frederic  Haydock  did 
read  the  address,  after  he  had  run  along  the 
platform,  and  while  he  opened  the  box  to  post 
the  letter. 

When  he  returned  to  his  seat,  his  friend  Hiram 
said,  "  Who  did  your  inamorata  write  to  ? " 

"  She  wrote  to  Philip  Abgar,  199  i-9th  Tremont 


1 6  WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES 

Street,  Boston.  I  suppose  it  is  her  husband," 
said  Haydock. 

The  two  young  men  were  not  accidental  travel 
ling  companions.  They  were  boy  friends  who  had 
been  parted  for  many  years,  had  met  by  accident 
in  New  York,  and  had  gladly  stretched  and 
squeezed  their  appointments  a  little  that  they 
might  manage  to  start  together  on  this  journey. 
They  had  been  fellow-students  in  Antioch  Col 
lege  when  they  were  fifteen  years  younger,  when 
indeed  they  were  scarcely  more  than  boys.  The 
college  had  been  broken  up  by  the  war,  and  they 
had  not  seen  each  other  again  now  for  fifteen 
years.  Well-nigh  thirty  years  old,  they  ran  against 
each  other  in  Broadway.  Whiskers,  moustaches, 
Ulsters,  look  of  care,  change  of  expression,  all 
were  not  enough  for  a  disguise.  They  were  boys 
still.  They  stopped  as  if  it  had  all  been  a  dream  ; 
as  if  there  had  been  no  Five  Forks,  and  no 
Crook's  Mills,  no  Battle  of  the  Clouds,  and  no 
Beaufort ;  as  if  both  of  them  had  left  recitations 
in  physical  geography  yesterday,  and  as  if  they 
had  happened  to  miss  each  other  at  prayers  this 
morning. 

"  How  are  you,  old  fellow  ?" 

"  Hiram,  how  are  you  ? " 

These  had  been  the  salutations  of  recognition 
after  fifteen  years. 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  I/ 

They  were  not  both  drummers,  as  the  subtle 
Hester  had  fancied  them.  Only  Hiram  Brinker- 
hoff  was  a  drummer.  Nor  would  he  have  called 
himself  by  that  name,  though  he  had  too  much 
sense  to  resent  it,  were  it  applied  good-naturedly. 
He  was  a  travelling  agent  of  a  large  house  of 
druggists,  and  his  district  was  south  of  the  Ohio 
and  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Haydock  had  been, 
since  the  war,  the  postmaster  of  St.  AugUste  in 
Louisiana.  He  had  come  home  to  Manitowoc 
this  summer  to  visit  his  father  and  mother,  and 
he  took  the  occasion  to  come  East  as  far  as  New 
York,  which  he  had  never  seen. 

It  was  of  course  that  they  should  establish 
themselves  at  once  at  the  same  hotel ;  that  they 
should  spend  every  hour  of  the  next  week  to 
gether,  and  then  that  they  should  so  cut  and  carve 
their  plans  as  to  start  on  this  journey  at  the  same 
time. 

Even  after  the  journey  had  begun  they  were  by 
no  means  talked  dry.  How  had  they  missed  each 
other,  and  how  close  were  they  to  each  other  in 
the  army  ?  How  near  did  the  transport,  in  which 
Hiram  was,  pass  to  the  camp  of  Fred's  regi 
ment  !  A  thousand  such  matters  as  these  kept 
starting  up  afresh,  and  each  one,  as  it  started, 
opened  up  a  thousand  more.  They  had  of  course 


1 8  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

to  pass  the  time  of  day  with  their  companions 
who  were  only  starting  on  shorter  expeditions  ; 
but,  as  these  gentlemen  dropped  off  one  after 
another,  the  two  young  men  found  the  afternoon 
devoted  itself  not  so  much  to  their  novels  or 
newspapers  as  to  good  steady  talk,  such  as  not 
even  a  week  in  the  city  had  given  them  a  chance 
for.  - 

It  is  not  to  be  pretended,  however,  that  they 
were  so  much  absorbed  in  each  other,  through  the 
day's  ride,  as  to  be  ignorant  of  the  presence  of 
two  pleasing,  pretty,  and  ladylike  young  women 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Palace,  although  "  elev 
en  "were  in  front  of  "six,"  as  the  "Golconda" 
was  then  running. 

Honora  MacPherson,  alias  Frederic  Haydock, 
had  caught  sight  of  Mrs.  Abgar's  face  before  she 
caught  sight  of  his.  And  it  is  very  certain  that 
he  did  not  mistake  her  for  a  man  when  she  mis 
took  him  for  a  woman.  As  he  sat  riding  back 
ward,  he  had  better  opportunities  for  studying 
the  ladies'  manner,  without  obtrusiveness,  than 
had  Hiram.  Without  thinking  much  of  the  la 
dies,  they  did  from  time  to  time  confide  to  each 
other  their  observations,  and,  in  the  bungling 
style  of  men,  gradually  created  a  theory  which 
accounted  for  the  existence  of  the  other  couple, 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  19 

much  as  Hester  had  done,  though  not,  perhaps, 
so  accurately. 

"  Times  have  changed  indeed,"  said  Hiram,  as 
the  tireless  train  at  last  paused  —  so  a  fish-hawk 
rests  before  pouncing  for  his  food  —  just  as  they 
swept  into  Lancaster.  "  I  remember  this  place 
when  the  one  horse,  one  track,  branched  off  from 
the  State  Road  to  take  us  to  Harrisburg  ;  when  a 
long  bench  to  step  upon  seemed  to  be  the  only 
'  depot '  convenience.  My  father  used  to  tell  of  a 
woman  who  sold  crullers,  pretzels,  and  apples  on 
a  table  on  the  south  side  of  the  track,  who  was  so 
beautiful  that  all  the  passengers  clustered  on  that 
side  to  see  her." 

Saying  this,  Hiram  looked  out  of  the  Palace, 
and  Frederic  as  well ;  but  there  was  no  Her- 
mione,  —  daughter  of  that  remembered  Helen, 
.  there.  It  was  as  Fred  turned  back  from  looking 
for  her  that  Effie  gave  to  him  her  letter. 

Anybody  who  has  never  seen  other  farms  than 
Effie  and  Hester  had  seen  in  Massachusetts  finds 
a  thousand  wonderful  sights  in  the  large-scale 
farming  of  Pennsylvania:  barns  more  stately 
than  churches,  and  fields  without  fences  and 
without  woods  just  growing  green  as  the  wheat 
starts,  or  just  growing  white  as  a  snow  flurry 
falls.  The  girls  were  at  their  window  studying 


2O  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

Pennsylvania  agriculture  a  great  deal  of  the  after 
noon.  The  men  had  seen  a  great  deal  of  large- 
scale  farming.  They  had  little  to  see,  but  much 
to  talk  of.  An  hour  passed  before  either  party 
knew  it,  and  the  train  swept  into  Harrisburg  to 
the  surprise  of  all  —  when,  of  a  sudden,  martial 
music  welcomed  them : 

"  See  !  the  conquering  hero  comes  !  " 

"A  little  surprise  I  arranged  for  you,"  said 
Brinkerhoff  to  Haydock. 

"  O  my  queen  !  "  said  Hester,  at  the  same  mo 
ment,  "as  you  first  place  your  royal  foot  upon 
the  ground,  you  see  that  your  lieges  are  assem 
bled  to  do  you  honor." 

"  Are  we  to  get  out  ?  "  asked  Effie. 

"  Your  majesty  should  say  '  are  we  to  alight  ? '  " 
replied  Hester.  "  In  the  first  place,  queens  al 
ways  alight ;  in  the  second  place,  the  word  '  get ' 
is  gradually  getting  itself  banished  from  all  re 
spectable  seminaries  and  other  institutions  of 
learning.  And  your  majesty  will  perhaps  regard 
yourself  as  under  my  instruction  for  this  journey 
for  the  correction  of  your  majesty's  cacology.  To 
answer  your  majesty's  question,  I  think  we  will 
get  out,  and  spend  our  twenty-five  minutes  in 
examining  the  institutions  of  the  capital  of  Penn 
sylvania." 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  21 

So  they  "alighted."  There  was  no  friendly 
porter  to  help,  the  other  passengers  were  all  gone  ; 
and,  rather  to  their  dismay,  the  girls  found  that 
they  had  jumped  down  upon  a  snow-bound  plat 
form  into  the  midst  of  a  military  band,  a  company 
of  soldiers,  and  a  body  of  men  with  badges,  who 
were  stepping  forth  and  back,  as  sundry  well- 
meaning  marshals  bade  them,  whose  own  ideas 
were  a  little  indefinite.  True,  they  all  meant  to 
be  eventually  collectors  of  customs  or  postmasters, 
as  the  result  of  that  day's  marshalling.  But  just 
how  this  particular  procession  was  to  be  mar 
shalled,  in  order  that  this  result  might  be  gained, 
no  particular  marshal  knew. 

Nor  did  Hester,  the  lady-chamberlain  in  the 
midst  of  them,  know  which  way  she  was  to  mar 
shal  her  queen. 

At  that  moment  the  band  close  to  her  struck  up 
"March,  march,  Eskdale  and  Teviotsdale." 

Hester  was  just  in  advance  of  Effie.  She  was 
mad  with  herself  because  she  was  confused.  She 
was  confused  because  she  was  rnad.  Mad  and 
confused,  she  welcomed  Fred  Haydock  as  an 
angel  of  light  when  he  touched  his  hat  and 
said,  "  Let  me  show  you  the  way,  madam  !  "  In 
deed  she  could  not  be  certain,  afterwards,  that 
for  just  an  instant,  as  he  led  her  between  two 


22  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

very  fussy  marshals  and  separated  two  platoons 
of  delegates  for  her,  she  could  not  be  certain 
that,  just  for  that  instant,  she  did  not  take  his 
arm. 

And  these  were  the  first  words  he  ever  spoke 
to  her ! 

An  instant  more,  and  all  peril  was  over.  The 
ladies  were  both  in  the  dining-room,  and  some 
nice  Pennsylvania  girls  were  asking  them  if  they 
would  dine. 

It  had  been  very  easy,  in  the  retreat  of  the 
studio,  to  say  they  would  eat  sandwiches  all  the 
way  till  they  came  to  Cincinnati.  But  with  those 
nice  white  table-cloths,  with  spoons  shining 
brighter  than  silver,  with  celery  rising  sea-green 
from  the  water,  like  Aphrodite  herself,  to  allure 
them,  with  a  certain  feminine  craving  for  Thea 
Bohea  goading  them  on  —  who  was  Hester,  who 
was  Effie,  that  they  should  refuse  ? 

"  Have  we  time  enough  ? " 

"Twenty-five  minutes,  madam.  Rather  more 
to-day  because  of  the  delegates,  madam.  Soup, 
madam  ?  No  ?  Fish  ?  Troutfreshcodsaltcodfresh 
mackerelsaltmackerelroastbeefboiledbeef  roastmu 
ttonboiledmuttonroastturkeyboiledturkeyboiledh 
amplainsausageBolognasausagecoldtongue  ? " 

Effie  was  aghast.     But  her  lady-chamberlain 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  2$ 

selected  for  her,  and  in  a  few  minutes  they  were 
•well  engaged.  The  "  pretty  waiter  girls  "  had 
provided  for  them  both,  when  the  hospitable 
chief  of  staff  came  to  the  table  leading  two  gen 
tlemen  who  did  not  seem  to  be  delegates,  to  whom 
he  gave  vacant  seats  at  the  same  table. 

The  ladies  saw  on  the  instant  that  the  two 
gentlemen  were  the  drummers  of  section  Eleven. 

Hester  bowed  and  smiled. 

Frederic  explained,  "  My  friend  here  was  lost 
among  the  delegates.  I  believe  if  I  had  not  res 
cued  him  he  would  have  been  marched  to  the 
State  House  to  vote  for  Pennsylvania's  favorite 
son." 

Hiram  tried  to  speak,  laughed,  choked  rTimself 
with  a  fish-bone,  and  retired  from  the  table  cough 
ing  and  with  his  face  red. 

He  did  not  die  suddenly,  however,  but  reap 
peared  in  an  instant. 

Hester  had  not  the  slightest  idea  of  entering 
into  conversation  with  strangers.  But  she  asked 
before  she  knew  it,  "  Pray  what  is  the  band, — 
who  are  all  these  people  ?  " 

Then  Frederic  explained  that  the  next  day 
there  was  to  be  a  convention  to  nominate  dele 
gates  to  Cincinnati ;  that  these  were  the  Eastern 
delegates  attending  this  State  convention,  and 


24  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

that,  as  the  badges  in  their  hats  showed,  they 
were  prepared  to  give  the  Presidency  to  Gov. 
Hartranft,  Pennsylvania's  favorite  son. 

"  My  dear,"  whispered  Effie,  "  I  am  horribly 
ignorant.  But  I  never  heard  of  him  before." 

"  Nor  I,  my  dear ;  but  we  will  be  drawn  by  wild 
horses  before  we  will  confess  it." 

Then  Hiram  and  Frederic  began  talking  very 
pleasant  and  intelligible  politics  with  each  other, 
and  they  talked  very  well,  conscious  that  two 
very  pretty  women  were  hearing  them.  The 
pretty  women  listened  with  all  their  ears,,  but 
pretended  not  to,  because  they  had  not  been 
introduced  to  these  gentlemen.  There  was  a 
little  interruption  when  the  waiter  girls  offered 

"  Plumpuddingindianpuddingricepuddingqueenspu 
ddingpumpkinpieapplepiedamsonpiepeachpievanillaic 
ecreamlemonicecream." 

They  all  made  their  selections.  But  there  was 
no  more  talk  of  politics.  When  the  desserts  were 
all  secured,  Hiram  was  telling  a  funny  story 
of  old  Harris  the  ferryman,  who  determined  a 
generation  in  advance  that  Harrisburg  should  be 
the  capital  of  Pennsylvania. 

Twenty-five  minutes  is  a  long  time  for  dinner, 
when  you  think  it  is  no  time  at  all. 

The  fatal  bell  struck,  the  gentlemen  led  the 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  2$ 

way  to  the  "  Golconda,"  the  ladies  took  their 
hands  as  they  stepped  into  the  Palace,  the  bell 
struck  again  and  they  were  under  way. 

A  gray,  grim  sunset,  but  yet  a  sunset,  on  the 
other  side  the  river,  the  river  gray,  and  cold,  and 
cross,  then  a  little  island  white  with  snow,  and 
bearded  with  birches,  and  willows,  and  balm  of 
Gilead  trees,  —  "  Is  this  the  Juniata  yet  ?  "  "  I 
do  not  know."  "This  must  be  the  Juniata." 
"  No,  this  is  the  Susquehanna,  still."  "  I  do  not 
know."  "  No  —  well  —  it  makes  no  difference." 
But  the  girls'  doubts  were  solved  at  last,  when 
in  "  eleven,"  with  an  exquisite  tenor,  one  of  the 
young  men  —  they  did  not  know  which  —  broke 
out  with : 

"Wild  roved  an  Indian  girl, 

Bright  Alfarata, 
Where  sweep  the  waters  of 
The  blue  Juniata. 

"  Swift  as  an  antelope 

Through  the  forest  going. 
Loose  were  her  jetty  locks 
In  wavy  tresses  flowing.'7 

And  so  on,  and  so  on,  in  the  verses  of  "The  Blue 
Juniat^t,"  which  all  girls  sang  a  generation  ago, 
but  which  Young  America  has  forgotten. 
"  Blue  Juniata  is  yellow  enough  just  now." 
Then  he  stopped  for  a  minute,  and  in  a  half 


26  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

undertone  in  the  darkness,  said  to  his  compan 
ion,  "  But  for  once  that  I  have  sung  those  words 
to  this  air,  I  have  sung  these  a  million  times  : 

"  '  Who  is  my  darling  girl  — 

Chipper  and  cheery  ? 
Amy  is  my  darling  girl,  — 
And  Amy  is  my  deary.'  " 

"  You  are  as  much  in  love  with  her  as  you  used 
to  be  in  Yellow  Springs." 

"  As  much  !     A  hundred  times  more ! " 


A  pity  that  so  pretty  a  song  as  "  Blue  Juniata  " 
should  drift  out  of  the  memories  of  the  young 
people  of  sixteen  and  seventeen  years  old.  It  is 
a  pretty  specimen  of  that  school  of  song,  which 
may  be  called  the  "  American." 


OF  A    PULLMAN. 


THE   BLUE  JUNIATA. 


^fe=l=^ 


Wild  roved  an  Indian  girl, 

Bright  Alfarata, 
Where  sweep  the  waters  of 

The  blue  Juniata ; 
Swift  as  an  antelope, 

Through  the  forest  going, 
Loose  were  her  jetty  locks 

In  wavy  tresses  flowing. 


28  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


Gay  was  the  mountain  song, 

Of  bright  Alf  arata, 
Where  sweep  the  waters  of 

The  blue  Juniata ; 
Strong  and  true  my  arrows  are, 

In  my  painted  quiver, 
Swift  goes  my  light  canoe 

Adown  the  rapid  river. 

Bold  is  my  warrior  true, 

The  love  of  Alfarata, 
Proud  waves  his  snowy  plume 

Along  the  Juniata ; 
Soft  and  low  he  speaks  to  me, 

And  then  his  war  cry  sounding, 
Rings  his  voice  in  thunder  loud 

From  height  to  height  resounding. 

So  sang  the  Indian  girl, 

Bright  Alfarata, 
Where  sweep  the  waters  of 

The  blue  Juniata ; 
Fleeting  years  have  borne  away 

The  voice  of  Alfarata, 
Still  sweeps  the  river  on, 

The  blue  Juniata. 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  29 


CHAPTER  III. 

TT  is  a  pity,  but  so  it  is.  If  you  choose  to  sleep 
in  a  Palace,  you  cannot  see  more  than  if  you 
slept  in  a  hovel. 

And  so  our  heroine  and  our  heroine's  friend 
climbed  the  Alleghanies,  and  slid  down  the  Alle- 
ghanies,  as  if  there  were  no  Alleghanies  at  all. 
They  came  to  Pittsburg,  and  they  went  from 
Pittsburg  as  if  there  were  no  Pittsburg  at  all.  It 
was  as  if  Braddock  had  never  blundered,  as  if 
France  had  never  conquered,  as  if  Washington 
had  never  covered  the  retreat,  as  if  Pitt  had  never 
become  Chatham.  No  Pittsburg  for  our  heroine 
and  our  heroine's  friend  ! 

Only  the  Palace  rested  a  little  from  its  bump 
ing  in  the  station  at  Pittsburg,  and  Hettie  and 
Effie  had  a  little  quiet  dream  of  heaven  while  it 
rested ;  and  then,  as  it  started  again  on  its  re 
lentless  course,  they  half  waked,  half  slept,  and 
dreamed  of  all  the  wretchednesses  that  their  lives 
had  ever  known. 


30  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

So  they  were  whirled  relentlessly  across  the 
"Pan  Handle,"  by  which  domestic  name  that 
funny  strip  of  West  Virginia  is  known  which 
shoots  up  like  an  inverted  icicle  between  Penn 
sylvania  and  Ohio.  So  they  crossed,  half  con 
scious  and  half  unconscious,  the  Ohio  River. 
But  the  longest  night  will  end  ;  and  at  last  both 
girls  had  brushed  their  hair,  and  had  otherwise 
adjusted  their  toilet,  and  found  themselves  look 
ing  out  on  the  country,  trying  to  make  out  in 
what  Ohio  differed  from  Pennsylvania,  but  a  good 
deal  puzzled  in  doing  so  by  the  "  areas  of  snow," 
as  Gen.  Myers  put  it  that  day.  For  under  snow 
all  lands  are  much  the  same. 

With  all  their  pluck,  also,  the  two  girls  felt 
wretchedly,  and,  if  either  of  them  had  been  com 
fortably  alone,  she  would  have  been  glad  to  cry. 
This  had  been  actually  Effie's  first  night  in  a 
Palace,  and  she  had  slept  miserably.  She  even 
thought  she  had  not  slept  at  all.  Hester's  former 
experience  had  been  not  in  vain.  But  she,  also, 
had  been  bumped  and  tossed,  and  knew  that  the 
night  had  been  the  longest  night  but  one  she  had 
ever  known.  That  one  was  her  first  night  in  a 
Palace.  What  then  had  this  night  been  to 
Effie? 

Still,  both  the  girls  were  brave.    They  had  de- 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  31 

termined  to  go  to  Texas  together  in  a  Palace 
were  there  no  other  way.  And  neither  would, 
at  the  first  blush,  confess  to  the  other  the 
misery  she  had  undergone.  Each,  instructed 
by  the  other,  tottered  her  shaky  way  to  the 
washroom.  Each  was  a  little  refreshed  by  the 
cold  water.  Each,  before  the  wildly  waving 
mirror,  "did  her  hair."  And  so  they  sat  to 
gether,  as  if  no  night  of  misery  had  intervened, 
in  "  lower  six,"  and  "  lower  six  "  made  believe,  in 
its  silent  hypocrisy,  that  it  never  was  any  thing 
but  a  large  ttte  d  tete  sofa.  As  if  they  did  not 
know,  and  it  did  not  know,  and  all  the  porters 
and  all  the  newspapers,  that  it  was 

"  Two  beds  by  night,  a  pair  of  seats  by  day." 
Where  they  were,  the  girls  could  only  guess  by 
their  watches,  and  by  the  "Traveller's  Official 
Guide."  They  had  been  wise  enough,  not  to  be 
penny-wise,  but  to  "buy  the  best."  The  porter 
was  far  too  busy,  in  readjusting  "seven"  and 
"  nine  "  and  "  thirteen,"  to  tell  them  the  names 
of  stations.  Indeed  the  girls  were  too  much 
interested  in  his  deft  work,  which  they  had 
watched  with  the  sympathy  of  professional 
housekeepers,  even  to  ask  them.  Effie  twitted 
Hester  that  she  did  not  know  the  names  of  the 
"  creeks  "  and  the  villages  as  they  passed  them. 


32  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

"What  is  the  use  of  teaching  so  much  com 
parative  geography,  my  dear  Hettie,  if  you 
cannot  distinguish  Coshocton  from  West  La 
fayette  when  you  see  it?  For  my  part,  I  am 
only  an  artist.  I  am  interested  in  the  blue  un 
der  the  edge  of  that  drift.  But  you,  you  are 
a  school-mistress,  and  yet  you  cannot  tell  me 
when  we  come  to  Dresden." 

No.  Hester  avowed  in  the  secrecy  of  the 
Palace  that  she  had  never  even  heard  of  Dres 
den,  of  Frazeysburg,  of  Canesville,  or  of  Coshoc 
ton.  In  each  of  these  towns  readers  of  this  tale 
will  follow  her  travels.  How  gladly  would  she 
have  rested  her  weary  head  in  one  of  them  ! 

"  But  wisest  Fate  said,  No  !  " 
And  they  whirled  on. 

The  girls  learned  afterwards  from  a  friendly 
old  lady  of  more  experience  to  hide  a  Boston 
cracker  under  the  pillow  and  to  eat  it  before 
moving  in  the  morning.  But  "  wit  comes  after 
wards,"  says  the  Yankee  proverb,  and  so  does 
wisdom.  At  Dresden  Junction  they  were  hardly 
settled  enough  to  know  any  thing  but  that  they 
were  faint  and  wretched.  It  was  an  hour  before 
the  screaming  wild  beast  which  dragged  them 
on  was  hungry  again  or  thirsty.  When  they 
stopped  at  Newark  to  feed  him,  Effie  looked  out 
wistfully. 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  33 

But  the  platform  at  Newark  was  snow-covered, 
and  the  porter  was  discouraging. 

The  girls  doubted.  Just  then  he  whom  they 
had  called  Honora  MacPherson  came  up  in  the 
car.  On  a  plate  he  bore  a  single  mug  of  New 
ark  coffee. 

"  Will  you  try  a  cup  of  coffee,  ladies  ? "  he 
said.  "  It  is  very  poor  coffee,  but  I  believe  it  is 
better  than  nothing.  You  will  have  no  other 
chance  till  we  come  to  Columbus." 

"Gentleman  through  and  through"  —  this  was 
the  one  thought  of  both  the  girls.  Effie  rallied 
first  to  speak,  thanked  him  and  took  the  cup. 
The  mixture  was  not  of  that  exquisite  warm, 
reddish  brown  as  delicious  to  artists  as  to  epi 
cures — it  was  of  a  hard,  cold  gray,  with  large 
black  spots  floating  in  it.  But  it  was  warm. 
There  was  a  slight  sense  of  stimulant  in  it, 
though  the  taste  was  vile ;  yet  there  was  reason 
to  believe  that  a  part  at  least  of  the  compound 
had  drunk  in  the  temper  of  a  Brazilian  sun. 
Effie  despatched  her  half.  Hettie  did  the  same 
by  hers,  and  looked  for  the  porter.  He  was  no 
where.  But  Honora  MacPherson  reappeared. 
Hester  had  her  two  nickels  ready. 

"  Is  that  right  ? " 

"  Quite   right,"  said  he,  and   he   smiled.     So 
their  acquaintance  was  advancing. 
3 


34  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

On  the  strength  of  those  doubly-baked  brown 
bread  crusts  mingled  with  charred  Rio,  and  of  a 
sandwich,  a  little  dry,  which  emerged  from  the 
lunch  basket,  these  two  girls  went  to  Columbus. 
Columbus  himself,  when,  about  half  a  league 
from  the  little  seaport  of  Palos,  standing  at  the 
door  of  the  convent  dedicated  to  Saint  Mary : 

"  He  asked  of  the  Porter 
A  little  Bread  and  Water 
For  his  Child," 

was  not  more  glad  to  rest  from  his  wanderings 
than  were  they.  But  it  is  not  for  this  tale  to 
describe  in  detail  the  white  napkins,  the  brilliant 
spoons,  the  brown  broiled  chicken,  the  golden 
omelette,  the  rich  gravy  of  the  steak,  the  crisp 
crackle  of  the  potato,  the  mosaic  of  the  waffle 
or  the  ophir  tone  of  the  syrup,  of  the  meal  which 
lay  before  them.  The  people  of  Ohio  have  a 
proud  proverb  that  "  No  man  was  ever  hungfy  in 
Ohio."  This  may  be  true  of  men  who  reside 
there.  Of  these  two  girls,  who  had  been  shaken 
like  obstinate  medicine  vials  for  seven  hours  and 
fifty  minutes  since  they  left  Steubenville,  one 
hundred  and  ninety-three  miles  behind,  it  was 
not  true.  They  were  so  hungry  that  they  did 
not  know  that  they  were  hungry  till  the  brown 
coffee  stood  before  them,  and  then,  at  the  sug- 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  35 

gestion  of  the  warm  milk  and  Alderney  cream, 
blushed  with  that  blush  of  a  brunette  in  Seville 
which  already  a  vain  effort  has  been  made  to  de 
scribe.  As  one  of  them  is  a  heroine,  and  an 
other  a  heroine's  friend,  it  will  not  be  well  to  tell 
what  they  ate  and  what  they  did  not  eat  before 
they  bade  their  hospitable  host  farewell  and 
mounted  the  snowy  steps  of  the  "  Golconda " 
once  more. 

"  I  am  glad  she  is  named  the  '  Golconda  '  and 
I  am  glad  it  snows.     I  feel  as  if  I  were  going 

'  From  Greenland's  icy  mountains 
To  India's  coral  strand.1 " 


36  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


CHAPTER   IV. 

TT  was  nearly  three  in  the  afternoon  before  they 
came  into  Cincinnati.  Effie  thought  they 
were  underground  ;  but  this  was  her  mistake, 
though  it  was  dark  in  the  station.  The  South 
ards,  father  and  son,  were  there  to  meet  them 
with  their  own  carriage ;  and  after  a  mysterious 
ride  —  all  rides  in  a  new  city  are  mysterious  — 
now  up  hill,  and  now  by  long  level  ways,  but 
never  down  hill  by  any  accident  —  they  came  to 
the  exuberant  welcome  of  the  Southards'  home. 
Fanny  herself  was  at  the  door,  unknown  South 
ard  boys  helped  with  the  straps  and  bags,  and 
the  two  travel-worn  girls  were  instantly  at  home. 
How  like  home  it  all  was  —  and  how  unlike  ! 

And  when  they  were  clean  again,  and  all  sat 
together  at  the  early  dinner  which  Fanny  had 
ordered  for  them,  she  compelled  them  to  open  all 
their  plans  ;  and,  in  her  turn,  she  opened  hers. 
Soon  it  appeared  that  she  had  arranged  for  this 
and  that  and  another  excursion  and  enterprise, 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  37 

which  would  require  six  weeks'  stay.  On  their 
part  they  had  modestly,  prepared  to  go  on  the 
next  morning.  Against  this  all  the  hospitality  of 
Ohio  protested,  and  all  the  memories  of  New  Eng 
land  ;  and  it  ended,  as  such  discussions  always 
end,  in  the  girls  agreeing  to  spend  three  days  : 
item,  the  rest  of  this  Tuesday,  the  whole  of 
Wednesday,  and  as  much  of  Thursday  as  would 
pass  before  they  should  take  the  "General 
Lytle"  and  go  down  to  Louisville. 

"  I  thought  we  were  going  all  the  way  in  a  Pal 
ace,"  said  Effie,  not  very  sorry  to  be  relieved. 

"  My  dear  Miss  Effie,"  said  John  Southard,  "  do 
not  you  know  that  your  own  Mr.  Everett  said 
that  one  of  our  steamers  is  a  palace  above  and  a 
warehouse  below  ? " 

Effie  did  not  know  it,  but  it  was  not  the  last 
time  that  she  found  out  that  she  was  to  be  made 
responsible  for  all  the  wit  and  all  the  wisdom,  as 
well  as  for  all  the  folly  and  all  the  forgetfulness, 
of  all  New  Englanders. 

"  You  are  but  a  feeble  folk,"  said  John  South 
ard,  "  and  we  cannot  pretend  to  distinguish  be 
tween  you.  Do  not  be  surprised  if  I  call  you 
Miss  Marshall." 

Effie  did  not  push  the  conversation.  But  after 
ward  she  asked  Mrs.  Southard  who  Miss  Marshall 
was. 


38  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

"My  deary  she  was  the  most  beautiful  woman, 
and  the  loveliest  too,  who  ever  was  seen  since 
Helen." 

So  Effie  found  she  was  in  high  favor  with  John 
Southard. 

Nobody  in  Cincinnati  remembered  the  time 
when  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  had  been 
seen  outside  his  own  office  or  one  of  the  Courts 
of  Ohio.  But  on  the  Wednesday  of  the  visit  he 
sat  on  the  front  seat  of  his  carriage  at  that  hour, 
twirling  his  whip,  and  waiting  —  only  thirty  sec 
onds —  for  his  wife  and  the  two  girls,  that  he 
might  drive  them  out  of  town 'on  a  visit  to  a 
friend  of  his  who  lived  in  a  real  palace. 

"  Not  one  of  your  Yankee  catacombs  on  wheels, 
Miss  Effie,"  he  said.  And  up  and  up  —  still  up 
and  up  —  the  stout  bays  pulled  the  carriage,  with 
the  laughing  group,  till  they  came  into  the  open 
country,  and  then  by  pleasant  roads  through  a 
cheerful  region  they  came  to  the  palace  which 
was  promised.  The  grounds  delighted  Hester 
with  such  evergreens  as  she  had  never  seen  or 
hoped  to  see. 

"  If  only  you  could  see  this  place  in  the  end  of 
May,"  said  Fanny  Southard. 

"  I  am  very  well  satisfied  as  it  is,"  said  Hester. 

"  I  never  was  in  such  grandeur  in  my  life,"  said 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  39 


Hester  when  the  day  was  done.  "  Yet  I  believe 
we  were  all  born  to  such  beautiful  things  ;  and  I 
am  sure  I  was  more  at  ease  than  I  am  when  Erne 
has  made  me  climb  up  into  her  attic  in  the  top  of 
No.  99  Oswego  street."  For  all  this,  I  think 
Hester's  wonder  at  the  palace  was,  first  and  last, 
that  the  hall  of  the  house  was  so  comfortable  as 
well  as  so  fine.  It  is  long,  long  ago  that  the 
entry  of  a  New  England  "house  ceased  to  be 
comfortable.  People  make  them  smaller  and 
smaller.  They  let  the  boys  leave  their  dirty 
boots  there.  The  stairs  are  ugly.  People  even 
fail  to  warm  the  "entry."  At  last  it  has  not  a 
chair,  a  sofa,  or  a  picture.  It  is  nothing  but  an 
"  entry,"  a  place  to  come  in  tfy  and  to  go  out  by  ; 
and  you  are  glad  to  be  done  with  it. 

But  here  was  indeed  a  hall,  —  beautiful  beyond 
any  room  Hester  had  ever  seen,  —  adorned  with 
curious  and  precious  works  of  art,  such  as  she 
could  not  bear  to  pass  by,  and,  withal,  the  cordial 
welcome  of  the  most  courteous  of  hosts,  who  had, 
it  seemed,  stayed  at  home  because  his  friend 
Southard  was  going  to  bring  some  friends.  He 
excused  his  wife,  whom  the  ladies  would  see 
afterwards.  His  courtesies  were  perfect ;  and  in 
the  glories  of  the  palace  Effie  and  Hester  were  at 
once  at  ease.  Fanny  Southard  was  all  delight. 


40  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

She  knew  especially,  how  Effie  would  enjoy  the 
marvels  of  modern  painting  with  which  that 
house  is  filled  —  as  perhaps  no  other  house  in 
America  is.  How  often  had  she  said,  "  If  only 
Effie  could  go  there."  And  now  Effie  was  here. 

When  the  ladies  had  laid  off  their  furs  and 
.wraps  their  host  led  them  into  a  beautiful  draw 
ing-room,  which  is  in  fact  a  picture-gallery.  Be 
fore  they  sat  down,  or  before  Effie  could  cross  to 
see  what  stood  on  an  easel,  he  asked  leave  to 
present  two  friends  who  had  called  just  before. 
These  gentlemen  were  standing. 

"  Let  me  present  Mr.  Brinkerhoff  and  Mr.  Hay- 
dock  !  " 

The  girls  looked  up  and  gave  their  hands 
frankly,  with  smile  and  laughter. 

"  Why,  you  are  old  friends  ? "  asked  their  host. 

"  We  have  travelled  several  hundred  miles 
together." 

Then  there  was  a  little  explanation ;  and  in 
groups,  or  in  couples,  as  accident,  fancy,  or  cour 
tesy  suggested,  they  turned  to  what,  for  many, 
many  days,  must  be  the  dominant  temptation  to 
any  one  visiting  in  that  beautiful  house  —  the 
study  of  its  beautiful  pictures. 

"You  are  an  artist,"  said  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  to 
Mrs.  Abgar,  as  she  stood  silently  before  a  picture 
of  Rousseau's. 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


"  When  I  see  what  these  men  have  done,  I  do 
not  dare  to  say  so.  But  there  are  artists  of  all 
grades.  Yes,  I  am  an  artist." 

"  And  you  believe  in  these  Frenchmen  ? " 

Effie  roused  herself  to  a  great  struggle.  Here 
was  one  more  man  who  supposed  that  the  French 
school  of  to-day  is  a  horde  of  Bohemians  eager  to 
paint  naked  women ;  and  she  must  pretend  to 
talk  with  this  man  about  things  of  which  he  knew 
nothing.  Ah  !  well.  The  truth  is  the  truth,  and 
Effie  steeled  herself  to  misery  even  in  these  ex 
quisite  surroundings. 

"  I  believe  in  such  work  as  this.  I  believe  in 
such  a  picture  as  that"  —  and  she  pointed  to  a 
country  scene  by  Millet,  while  for  very  sympathy 
her  eyes  were  brimming  over.  "  I  believe  in  such 
landscape  as  that  of  Dupre's.  I  should  think  any 
body  might  believe  in  a  picture  like  that  gleaner," 
and  she  pointed  to  one  of  Jules  Breton's  paintings. 
Then,  as  she  looked  almost  indignant  into  his 
face,  she  saw  how  entirely  she  had  his  sympathy 
—  that  she  need  not  have  strained  herself  up  to 
conflict  —  and  she  fairly  apologized  for  her  zeal. 

"  I  think  I  know  your  feeling,"  said  he.  "  My 
question  was  absurd.  People  talk  now  of  French 
artists  exactly  as  the  English  talk  of  American 
dialect,  as  if  I  spoke  Texan,  or  could ;  or  as  if  a 
Carolinian  could  speak  Yankee." 


42  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

"  Do  not  let  us  remember  them,"  said  Effie, 
hastily  ;  "  only  let  us  enjoy  while  we  can.  They 
will  want  to  take  us  out  of  this  room  before  I  am 
in  the  least  ready  to  go." 

Ah,  me !  That  is  the  difficulty  in  this  palace, 
even  with  all  the  courtesy  of  its  host.  It  is  not  a 
place  for  one  day's  visit,  and,  whichever  room  you 
are  in,  you  cannot  bear  to  go  from  it  to  the 
next. 

"  Talk  of  palaces,"  said  Mr.  Brinkerhoff  to  Effie, 
when  he  found  she  had  never  been  in  Europe, 
"  they  drag  you  to  many  and  many  a  palace  there, 
bigger  than  this,  and  with  acres  of  pictures  on 
the  walls.  But  if  you  will  trust  my  little  experi 
ence,  you  will  say  that  there  are  very  few  houses 
in  this  world,  call  them  what  you  please,  where  is 
so  much  that  you  are  glad  to  see,  while  you  are 
not  fretted  with  annoyances  —  where  there  is 
really  nothing  to  be  explained  away." 

Their  host  had  at  this  moment  taken  Hester 
into  another  room,  and  they  could  speak  aloud 
of  him. 

"You  see,"  said  Brinkerhoff,  "that  he  has 
bought  what  he  liked,  and  he  has  not  bought 
what  he  did  not  like.  I  should  be  amused  to  see 
one  of  the  professed  picture  dealers  of  Paris,  or  of 
Munich,  or  of  Antwerp,  try  to  sell  him  a  picture 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  43 

that  he  did  not  choose  to  buy.  It  is  not  a  gallery 
made  to  please  other  people,  I  should  say,  but  to 
please  him  who  bought  it." 

But  Effie  was  not  listening.  In  a  minute  she 
roused  enough  to  know  that  he  had  been  talking. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon.  But  stand  where  I  stand, 
and  look." 

It  was  Couture's  picture  of  a  boy  blowing  bub 
bles,  when,  perhaps  —  who  shall  say?  —  he  should 
have  been  learning  his  lesson.  Should  he  ?  Then 
we  should  have  had  no  picture.  He  is  not  a 
thoughtless,  lazy  boy.  He  has  a  delicate,  pensive 
face  —  more  a  girl's  than  a  boy's ;  he  wears  a  dark 
dress  and  leans  his  head  back  on  his  chair  as  he 
watches  the  bubble.  His  slate  is  lying  on  his 
knees,  and  beyond  is  a  table  with  school-books. 
"  Tell  me  that  that  picture  will  not  be  precious  as 
long  as  there  are  boys  and  bubbles,  mothers  and 
sisters  and  slates  and  pencils !  Who  cares  for 
schools  of  artists,  and  all  the  stuff  they  write  in 
the  papers  about  motives  and  tones  and  earnest 
ness  and  fiddlesticks  —  when  there  are  pictures 
like  that  —  and  that  —  and  that  —  and  that?" 
And  as  she  spoke,  she  turned  on  her  feet,  and 
faced  successively  every  side  of  the  room. 

A  happy,  happy  morning  was  it.  Marvel  upon 
marvel  in  the  house.  How  Hester's  eyes  opened 


44  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

when  they  came  to  rest  in  the  library.  The  first 
folio  Shakespeare,  had  she  not  seen  that  ?  The 
earliest  Milton — was  she  curious  about  early 

books  —  or  would  she  not  like and  so  on, 

and  so  on.  Where  would  she  ever  stop,  if  she 
began  to  look  at  these  wonders  ?  And  then,  the 
whole  room,  in  the  midst  of  what  she  knew  were 
almost  priceless  treasures,  was  so  comfortable, 
the  fire  so  cheerful,  and  all  the  chances  for  work 
so  convenient ! 

And  then  there  must  be  a  little  lunch  ;  and 
then  they  must  go  to  the  other  library,  which, 
strange  to  say,  wras  over  the  stable  —  only  the 
stable  was  a  palace  in  its  way  —  and  wonders 
never  ceased  till  they  bade  their  kind  host 
good -by. 

They  had  to  bid  Hiram  and  Fred  good-by  also. 
But  it  may  well  be  guessed  that  after  a  day  like 
that,  they  could  hardly  believe  that  they  had  been 
strangers  only  sixty  hours  before. 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  45 


CHAPTER  V. 

TN  the  afternoon  of  the  next  day  Frederic  Hay- 
-*•  dock  was  sitting,  smoking,  in  the  pilot-house 
of  the  "  General  Lytle "  as  she  lay  at  the  shore 
at  Cincinnati  taking  on  freight  for  Louisville. 
The  proceedings  on  shore  were  entertaining  — 
many  of  them  new  to  him  —  and  his  position, 
screened  from  the  wind  by  the  glass  wall  of  the 
pilot-house,  was  not  uncomfortable. 

His  companion  joined  him,  pausing  a  minute 
on  the  step-ladder  which  leads  to  the  pilot-house 
from  the  roof  of  the  Texas. 

The  Texas  is  the  third  story,  so  to  speak,  of  a 
river  boat,  the  story  in  which  the  officers  live. 
Ordinary  passengers  have  nothing  to  do  with  it 
but  to  mount  to  its  top,  over  which  they  walk  to 
the  pilot-house. 

To  travellers  to  whom  all  is  new,  the  pilot 
house  is  on  many  accounts  the  pleasantest  part 
of  the  boat  while  they  are  taking  observations. 

"  It  is  nothing,"  said  Hiram  Brinkerhoff,  as  he 


46  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

entered.  "  But  I  am  never  tired  of  studying  the 
movements  of  these  river  crafts  and  their  crews." 

"  They  are  so  unlike  the  rest  of  the  world  that 
they  have  a  separate  column  in  the  newspapers 
for  their  bon-mots  and  other  small  talk." 

"  You  know  Mark  Twain  won  his  name  here. 
1  Mark  twain ! '  is  one  of  the  cries  of  a  man 
sounding,  as  he  reports  to  the  pilot.  If  all  river 
men  were  as  funny  as  he  is,  it  would  be  worth 
while  to  give  them  a  column." 

"  It  is  much  more  entertaining  now  than  the 
Court  Circular  is,  though  not  in  quite  such 
stately  English.  But  it  always  reminds  me  of 
the  Court  Circular,  seeing  these  people  are  our 
sovereigns  for  the  time." 

"  For  that  matter  you  might  say  that  the  chil 
dren  are  sovereigns.  I  see  that  they  have  a 
column  in  these  newspapers,  too." 

"  Yes.  Have  you  studied  to-day's  ?  "  And  he 
read  from  that  day's  daily  this  specimen  from 
the  "  Children's  Column  : " 

"  DEAR  SIR,  —  My  duck  has  seven  eggs,  and  I  hope 
she  will  have  four  more.  I  read  your  paper  every 
day,  and  like  it  much.  I  am  eleven  years  and  four 
months  old  and  vote  for  Hayes.  Truly  yours,  Abra 
ham  Lincoln  Watts,  South  Utopia,  Ohio." 

"  Who  is  Hayes  ?  I  see  he  is  the  '  favorite 
son '  here." 


OF  -A   PULLMAN.  47 

"  Yes,  of  that  there  is  no  doubt.  He  is  the 
same  man  that  beat  Allen  on  the  hard  money 
question  last  year.  Evidently  a  strong  man. 
Did  not  you  hear  what  that  Mr.  Southard  said 
of  him  ? " 

"At  the  picture  gallery?  Your  inamorata's 
friend  ? " 

"  I  thought,"  said  Hiram,  laughing,  "  that  the 
other  was  my  inamorata.  Or  have  you  given 
that  up  since  she  proved  to  be  a  married  woman  ? 
Yes,  that  is  the  man.  Evidently  a  man  of  mark 
here,  leading  counsel  and  all  that.  We  were 
speaking  of  the  Ohio  State  Convention,  and  of 
its  nomination  of  Hayes,  and  I  said,  rather  too 
flippantly  as  it  proved,  that '  favorite  sons '  seemed 
to  be  coming  to  the  front.  This  gentleman  re 
plied  very  earnestly  that  the  country  would  be 
fortunate  if  it  had  any  man  of  half  Governor 
Hayes's  worth  at  its  head.  He  has  certainly 
made  a  mark  here.  Surely  you  remember  his 
canvass  for  governor." 

"  My  dear  fellow,"  said  Haydock,  "  of  course  I 
do.  But  when  you  have  lived  in  St.  Auguste 
eleven  years,  as  I  hope  you  may  ;  when  you  have 
tried  to  keep  the  peace  between  two  thousand 
crazy  and  ignorant  field  hands  and  two  hundred 
crazy  and  irritated  Acadian  Frenchmen,  you  will 


48  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

find  that  all  your  interest  in  questions  of  green 
backs,  even  of  tariffs,  even  of  sutlerships,  is  much 
less  than  your  interest  about  some  of  the  very 
fundamentals  of  government.  Why,  Hiram,  in 
that  little  parish  there  have  been  seventy  mur 
ders  in  ten  years  !  " 

But  here  politics  were  cut  off  as  the  engine 
screamed  its  last  call  to  the  loiterers,  the  bell 
rang  convulsively,  the  orange-women,  the  banana- 
men,  the  candy-girls,  the  newsboys  were  tumbled 
on  shore,  a  "  gentlemanly  clerk,"  with  his  hands 
full  of  papers,  left  last  of  all,  and  then  an  ener 
getic,  anxious,  long-suffering  mate  exhorted  a 
horde  of  laughing,  careless,  limp  negroes,  tum 
bling  over  each  other's  heels,  to  be  lively  and 
not  to  go  to  sleep  as  they  hauled  up  from  the 
strand  that  mysterious  landing-plank  which 
seems  like  an  elephant's  trunk,  and  the  boat 
wriggled  out  from  her  berth  into  the  current  of 
the  Ohio. 

And  so  they  swept  down  the  river.  The 
"  General  Lytle  "  got  under  full  headway,  and 
the  young  men  sat  till  the  supper-bell  rang, 
watching  the  disappearance  of  the  smoky  city 
and  the  waning  light  of  the  sunset,  made  perhaps 
even  more  glorious  by  the  smoke.  A  waiter 
came  up  to  summon  them  to  tea,  and  Haydock 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  49 

threw,  away  his  cigar.  Both  of  them  vanished 
into  their  staterooms  for  a  minute's  toilette,  and 
when  they  were  led  to  their  table  by  the  steward 
in  attendance  they  found  their  chairs  tipped  for 
ward,  one  opposite  and  one  next  to  Hester 
Sutphen ! 

Mrs.  Abgar  sat  at  the  end  of  the  table  next  to 
her  friend. 

Both  gentlemen,  with  equal  spirit,  expressed 
their  satisfaction  with  their  good  luck,  and  had, 
of  course,  no  lack  of  subjects  in  going  back  over 
the  experiences  of  the  "  Golconda,"  the  palace  on 
wheels,  and  of  that  other  beautiful  palace  not  on 
wheels,  which  they  had  seen  in  each  other's  com 
pany.  Of  course  it  soon  appeared  that  the 
ladies  had  never  crossed  the  Alleghanies  before, 
and  were  wholly  ignorant  of  the  ways  and 
means,  the  etiquettes,  luxuries,  and  discomforts 
of  a  Western  steamboat. 

One  of  them  cited  the  expression  which  she 
had  heard  a  day  or  two  befoik  —  "A  palace 
above  and  a  warehouse  below." 

"Then  this  is  our  third  Palace  since  we 
started,"  said  Hiram,  laughing.  "  That  is  doing 
well  for  Republicans  in  one  week." 

"  As  of  course  we  all  live  at  home  in  log  cab 
ins  or  in  the  attics  of  tenement  houses/'  said 


50  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

Hester,  "  we  must  be  grateful  for  this  infusion  of 
palatial  experience.  Do  they  really  burn  kero 
sene  in  kings'  houses,  Mr.  Brinkerhorf  ? " 

Then  the  incautious  school-mistress  was  pro 
voked  with  herself  that  she  had  let  Mr.  Brinker* 
hoff  know  that  Effie  Abgar  had  told  her  what 
he  had  said  in  the  picture-gallery.  In  fact  each 
one  of  the  four  persons  marked  'this  point 
silently. 

"  As  to  that,  I  think  they  would  be  glad  to. 
To  tell  the  whole  truth,  the  kings  and  emperors 
never  asked  me  much  to  their  evening  parties. 
But  I  am  afraid  they  are  still  under  the  delusion 
of  wax  candles." 

"  You  remernber  one  Palace  that  was  lighted 
with  petroleum  ? "  said  Effie. 

Hiram  laughed,  and  quoted  : 

" Many  a  row 

Of  starry  lamps  and  blazing  cressets,  fed 
With  naphtha  and  asphaltus,  yielded  light 
As  from  a  sky." 

"  Yes,  indeed ;  but,  somehow,  I  have  always 
imagined  it  rather  smoky  down  there,  have  not 
you  ? " 

"  That  was  in  Pandemonium,  was  it  not  ? 
That  was  before  General  Rosecranz  taught 
people  how  to  tame  the  naphtha." 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  51 

"  Was  it  he  ?  " 

"  I  believe  it  was  he." 

"  I  really  think,"  said  Effie,  "that  Mulciber  or 
Baal,  or  some  of  them,  ought  to  have  known  that 
before  General  Rosecranz  came."  -9 

"  The  children  of  this  world  proved  to  be  chil 
dren  of  light  that  time,"  said  Hester.  "  Anyway, 
this  makes  a  brilliant  supper-room  for  us." 

"  And  it  will  be  a  brilliant  drawing-room,  and, 
if  there  is  a  fiddle  on  board,  it  will  be  a  brilliant 
ball-room  by  and  by ;  and  if  you  are  far-sighted, 
Miss  Sutphen,  you  can  see  in  the  distant  per 
spective  that  the  preparations  are  going  forward 
at  the  other  end  for  euchre,  so  that  it  will  be  a 
card-room  also." 

"  The  truth  is,"  said  Frederic  Haydock,  "  it  is 
more  like  a  baron's  hall  than  it  is  like  a  modern 
palace.  At  the  stern  here  the  women  reign  su 
preme.  Yonder,  indeed,  in  the  saloon,  or  what 
ever  they  call  it,  I  may  not  enter,  unless  one  of 
these  ladies  bid  me.  Then  comes  the  piano. 
Then,  where  you  see  the  captain,  is  the  real  head 
of  the  tables,  and  the  head  of  the  feast.  By 
special  privilege,  because  Mr.  Brinkerhoff  has 
every  thing  of  the  best  always,  and  is  a  favorite 
with  the  '  gentlemanly  clerk,'  we  are  permitted 
to  sit  at  this  table  with  ladies.  See,  lower  down 


52  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

beyond  the  middle  distance,  if  you  will  permit 
me,  Mrs.  Abgar  —  see  tables  unenlightened  and 
not  favored,  where  sit  only  men." 

"  They  are  '  below  the  salt,'  "  said  she,  taking 
up  his  figure. 

"  In  a  sense,  yes.  But  it  is  the  land  of  equal 
ity,  and  they  are  fed  quite  as  well  as  we  are." 

"  Do  you  really  mean,"  said  she,  "  that  there 
will  be  dancing  by  and  by  ? " 

"That  depends.  If  those  people  yonder,  at 
the  captain's  table,  are  two  young  men  who  have 
just  married  those  two  young  women,  and  if 
those  others  are  the  bridesmaids  and  grooms 
men,  we  shall  certainly  have  dancing.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  are  delegates  from  the  United 
Sandemanian  Conference  of  Louisville  to  the 
United  Sandemanian  Conference  of  Cincinnati, 
we  shall  have  psalmody.  If,  perhaps,  they  are 
the  'Grand  Double  Quartette  of  the  Western 
Reserve,'  or  the  '  Pittsburgian  Choral  Union,'  on 
their  way  for  what  the  newspapers  call  '  a  musi 
cal  campaign,'  why  that  tall  lady  with  black  curls 
will  be  archly  singing, 

*  If  a  body  kiss  a  body  going  through  the  rye,' 
before  we  are  an  hour  older." 

"  Let  us  hope,"  said  Hester,  gravely,  "that  the 
next  song  may  be  the  '  Blue  Juniata/  by  the  dis- 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  53 

tinguished  primo  tenore  assoluto  from  the  Grand 
Opera." 

For  Hester  and  Effie  did  not  yet  know  which 
of  the  two  gentlemen  sang  so  wonderfully  well. 
And  so  they  did  not  know  which  of  them  was 
so  dead  in  love  with  that  unknown  Amy,  and 
yet  they  were  "  bound  to  know."  But  whether 
Hiram  Brinkerhoff  did  not  understand  or  did 
not  care,  or  whether  he  would  not  understand 
or  would  not  care,  or  whether  Frederic  Haydock 
were  equally  indifferent  or  equally  skilful,  neither 
of  them  colored  or  looked  at  the  other.  Only 
Hiram  said,  "Our  chances  are  rather  in  Coro 
nation  and  Peterborough,  I  fancy.  But  you 
ladies  found  out,  long  ago,  what  manner  of 
people  those  were." 

The  description  which  Haydock  had  given  of 
the  various  purposes  to  which  sooner  or  later 
this  long  saloon  would  be  devoted  was  no  ex 
aggeration.  It  looks  more  like  a  perspective 
view  of  the  Thames  Tunnel  than  any  picture 
well  known  to  most  readers.  After  supper,  at 
the  suggestion  of  the  gentlemen,  the  whole 
party  walked  quite  forward  to  the  other  end 
of  the  hall.  Persons  sitting  there  had  seemed 
dim  and  hazy  even  to  Effie's  far  sight  when 
they  stood  at  the  piano.  They  found,  when  they 


54  WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES 

came  there  that  on  the  right  and  left,  in  their 
little  offices,  were  the  clerk  and  captain  and 
other  managers;  and  the  persons  sitting  round 
the  stove  there  were,  clearly  enough,  men  on 
business  errands,  without  children  or  ladies, 
who  gravitated  to  this  end  as  the  family  parties 
gravitated  to  the  other.  They  made  room  for 
the  ladies  to  pass,  and  then  Hiram  flung  open  a 
door  that  they  might  look  out  on  the  night,  look 
down  on  the  piled  up  stores  of  the  "  warehouse 
below,"  and  might  see  the  picturesque  groups  of 
the  deck  hands. 

At  other  times  in  such  scenes,  Effie  caught 
every  opportunity  she  could,  by  the  strong  lights 
of  the  pine-knots  at  night  or  under  the  effects 
less  sharp  of  day,  to  preserve  in  her  sketch-book 
or  on  handy  little  bits  of  cigar  box  memorials  of 
the  attitudes  or  occupations  of  these  men. 

The  walking  and  talking  were  suddenly  inter 
rupted.  Quite  without  notice,  a  strange  drum 
ming  was  heard  behind  them,  and  a  smiling  and 
beaming  negro  at  that  moment  touched  Hester 
and  said,  — 

"  Please,  mum,  the  Indians  is  dancing ! " 

"  The  what ! "  cried  Haydock,  not  wholly 
pleased  with  the  interruption. 

Then  it  appeared  that  on  board  the  boat  was  a 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  55 

delegation  of  Chippeway  or  Ojibwa  Indians,  who 
were  on  a  journey  somewhere,  after  having 
visited  Washington.  It  had  been  thought  fit 
that  they  should  follow  the  Father  of  Waters  to 
the  sea,  —  and  so  they  were  all  on  board  the 
"  Lytle."  Dr.  Summerfield,  a  minister  on  board, 
had  prevailed  on  the  agent  and  interpreter  to 
bring  them  aft  in  the  evening  to  give  an  exhibi 
tion  of  their  singing  and  dancing  in  the  saloon, 
and  it  was  their  drum  which  had  interrupted 
Hester. 

With  Mr.  Haydock,  she  followed  the  waiter 
back  into  the 'cabin. 

The  serious  red-men  were  leaping  gravely 
round  one  of  their  number,  while  yet  others  used 
the  drum,  and  she-she-gwuns,  or  rattles. 

Dr.  Summerfield  explained  that  this  was  a  very 
grave  and  serious  dance  of  mystery.  It  was  in 
fact  a  sort  of  Eleusinian  mystery,  and  would 
never  have  been  performed  in  this  assembly  but 
that  Dr.  Summerfield  was  known  as  a  religious 
man  and  the  devoted  friend  of  their  race. 

Hester  and  Fred  came  back  just  in  time  to 
hear,  — 


WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


i.  Na  ha, —  Tau  ne; 
Na  ha,  —  Tau  ne; 
Ning  o  saw  pau  wabeno. 


The  dance  proved  interminably  long,  and  the 
verses  which  Effie  wrote  down,  are  only  taken  at 
random  from  thirty  or  forty. 

2.     Hi  au  ha 
Ge  he  he 
He  ge  ge 
Hi  au  he 
Hi  au  ge 
We  gau  bo  we  aun. 


3.  A  ne  kuva 
Gi  be  aun 
Ge  zhick  —  O  wun. 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  57 


4.     Ke  we  tau  —  ge  zhick 
Ka  te  kwa 
We  teem  aim. 


The  words  printed  in  italics  above,  as  the  in 
terpreter  explained  to  her,  are  mere  ejaculations, 
the  same  in  English  as  in  Chippeway. 

The  other  words  mean  simply,  — 

1.  "I  am  a  friend  of   the  Wabeno  ; "   that  is,  I 
am  in  sympathy  with  this  rite,  and  acknowledge  my 
allegiance  to  the  Wabeno  who  conducts  it. 

2.  Here  the  Great  Spirit  himself,  embodied  in  a 
tree,   says   "I   (the   tree)  sound   for   my   life   as   I 
stand." 

3.  The  Worshipper  says  :  "  All  round  the  circle  of 
the  sky,  I  hear  the  Spirit's  voice." 

4.  The  Great  Spirit  himself,  as  God  of  Thunder, 
says  :  "  I  sound  all  round  the  sky  that  they  can  hear 
me." 

Effie  asked  the  interpreter  if  he  could  not  give 
to  her  the  music.  But  he  shrugged  his  shoulders, 
and,  at  the  piano,  intimated  that  if  she  would 
slowly  and  gravely  thrum  on  any  two  keys  which 
were  not  in  absolute  discord,  with  but  the 


58  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

slightest  remembrance  of  the  time  of  the  dance, 
her  tune  would  be  as  good  as  theirs.  But  he 
wrote  or  drew  for  her,  on  the  open  page  of  her 
ready  sketch-book,  the  pictorial  representation  of 
the  words,  which  has  been  copied,  with  each 
verse,  above. 

The  first  is  a  necromancer's  hand,  in  a  sup 
plicating  posture,  holding  a  bone,  which  is  a 
charm  or  amulet. 

The  second  is  a  symbol  of  the  tree. 

The  third  is  the  celestial  hemisphere  or  sky, 
with  the  face  of  the  Great  Spirit  looking  over  it. 
Within  is  a  Manito's  arm  in  supplication.  On 
the  right  is  a  bird  of  good  omen. 

The  fourth  represents  the  beams  of  the 
Great  Spirit  all  around  the  sky. 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  59 


CHAPTER   VI. 

"V\  7 HEN  the  girls  woke  in  the  morning  each 
*  *  of  them  had  the  same  start  of  surprise ; 
for  each  wondered  how  things  could  be  so  still, 
and  how  she  could  have  been  sleeping  so  solidly. 
The  slight  tremor  of  the  boat  was  hushed,  and 
not  even  in  her  bed  at  home  could  either  of 
them  have  enjoyed  sleep  less  mixed  with  dreams 
than  in  this  morning  nap.  In  the  earlier  part  of 
the  night  things  had  not  seemed  so  smooth. 

They  were,  in  truth,  now  at  Louisville ;  most 
of  the  passengers  had  landed,  and  the  boat  on 
their  side  was  undisturbed  by  noise.  When 
they  were  equipped  to  the  last  button,  strap  and 
keyhole,  they  did  what  Oriana  or  Darioleta  would 
have  called  "  essaying  the  adventure "  of  an 
interview  with  the  clerk,  to  know  how  they 
should  land  their  luggage  and  how  they  should 
find  a  cab  or  a  coach. 

They  began  together  their  walk  down  the  long 
saloon.  But,  of  course  —  as  at  the  bottom  of 


60  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

her  heart  each  one  had  hoped,  though  neither 
had  yet  said  so  —  before  they  had  performed 
one-half  of  the  "trivial  dance"  before  them, 
Hiram  Brinkerhoff  and  Frederic  Haydock  were 
seen  approaching  from  the  other  end  to  meet 
them.  If  the  ladies  chose,  they  could  suppose 
that  the  gentlemen  had  deferred  their  own  land 
ing  until  they  could  say  good-by.  If  they  did 
not  choose  they  need  not  think  so. 

Anyway,  the  landing  was  featly  and  easily  ac 
complished.  Hester  began  by  giving  her  pretty 
fur  purse  to  Hiram  that  he  might  rightly  fee  the 
porters.  And  when  both  ladies  were  in  the  car 
riage,  and  he  gave  it  back  to  her,  he  said,  — 

"  I  have  paid  for  every  thing.  How  long  are 
you  to  remain  here  ?  " 

"  I  wish  I  knew.  Perhaps  a  day  —  perhaps 
a  fortnight." 

"  I  hope  we  may  call,"  said  Frederic. 

"Certainly,"  said  Effie  Abgar.  "Certainly," 
said  Hester.  "  Good-by  !  Good-by  !  "  And  the 
carriage  rolled  away.  ' 

"  It  was  really  a  piece  of  great  good  luck  that 
we  met  them,"  said  Effie.  "  They  are  thorough 
gentlemen,  if  they  are  drummers." 

"  They  are  not  drummers  !  "  cried  Hester, 
really  sharply  —  the  first  sharp  words,  however, 
which  she  had  spoken  on  the  journey. 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  6l 

Effie  would  not  notice  the  tone.  She  only 
laughed  and  said,  "  Oh !  I  am  really  relieved. 
Not  that  I  know  what  a  drummer  is.  I  only 
took  the  impression  from  something  you  dropped. 
But  it  is  much  nicer  to  have  them  fifers." 

And  by  this  time  the  storm  was  over,  and 
they  both  laughed  and  rolled  round  in  the  car 
riage  enough  to  kiss  each  other. 

Louisville  is  a  charming  city,  and  charming 
people  live  there.  And  to  young  folks-  like  these, 
fleeing  from  snow  and  ice  and  winter,  it  was 
pleasant  to  be  greeted  by  spring  violets  and  even 
Claytonias,  and  to  see  magnolia  trees  and  grass 
that  was  fairly  green.  Of  course  they  were  told 
that  the  spring  was  exceptionally  late  and  ex 
ceptionally  cold.  What  spring,  ever,  was  not  ex 
ceptionally  late  and  exceptionally  cold  ?  And 
they  were  very  glad  to  find  a  good  coke  fire  that 
cold  morning  at  Mr.  Sebastian's  house.  And 
the  welcome,  when  the  ladies  came  running 
down  to  meet  them,  was  delicious.  Arid  this 
time  Effie  could  administer  of  the  sweets  of  hos 
pitality  to  Hester.  For  the  Sebastians  were  her 
friends  ;  or,  rather,  they  had  been  old  friends  of 
Mr.  Abgar's.  She  had  never  seen  them  before, 
but,  as  Hester  said  to  her  when  they  were  alone 
in  their  own  room,  it  was  as  if  they  had  known 
her  all  their  lives. 


62  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

So  there  was  every  sort  of  expedition  ar 
ranged  ;  every  kind  of  pretty  party  —  school- 
friends  who  turned  up  but  had  not  forgotten  — 
and,  just  as  it  had  been  at  Cincinnati,  the  girls 
were  made  to  feel  that  they  had  been  idiots  that 
they  had  not  arranged  to  spend  the  whole  month 
at  Louisville.  But,  unexpectedly,  on  the  second 
day  only,  came  a  letter  which  showed  that  if 
they  meant  to  take  the  best  boat  at  Memphis, 
and  to  take  the  chance  of  joining  the  party  of 
Governor  Champernoon  and  his  family,  they  must 
not  loiter  long.  After  a  very  short  visit,  there 
fore,  ten  in  the  evening  saw  them  bidding  good- 
by  to  the  Sebastians,  and  to  quite  a  little  circle  of 
the  Sebastians'  friends,  who  seemed  to  Hettie 
and  to  Effie  to  be  people  they  had  known  ever 
since  they  wore  short  frocks ;  though  in  fact 
they  had  never  seen  them  before  the  "  Gen. 
Lytle"  stopped  at  Louisville  that  Friday  morn 
ing.  Lunches  unnumbered ;  little  baskets  of 
Florida  oranges ;  curious  arrangements  of  co 
logne, —  I  know  not  what  ingenious  contrivances 
for  Palace  life  —  were  forced  upon  them  as  they 
kissed  good-by,  and  cried  good-by,  and  shook 
hands  good-by,  and  told  good-by,  and  said  good- 
by.  Then  the  omnibus  driver  cried  "  All  ready," 
and  they  plunged  into  the  darkness  and  drove, 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  63 

through  ways  they  had  not  known,  to  the  distant 
station. 

Mr.  Edgar  Sebastian  made  all  easy  there. 
"You  had  better  take  the  berths  at  once,"  he 
said.  "  I  ordered  them  this  morning."  And 
then  to  the  porter,  "  Ready  with  your  lantern, 
boy ;  what  section  has  Mrs.  Abgar  ? " 

The  porter  looked,  and  said,  "  The  ladies  have 
number  six." 

"  My  dear,"  said  Effie,  "  you,  shall  have  '  lower 
six. ' " 

"  My  dear  Effie,"  said  Hester,  who  was  in 
advance  in  the  darkness,  and  had  come  to  the 
Palace,  "it  is  our  dear  Golconda." 

"  It  is  the  Golconda,"  cried  Effie,  as  she 
mounted.  And  the  well-pleased  porter,  glad 
that  everybody  else  was  glacl,  said,  "  Yes,  ma'am. 
She  had  a  hot  box  yesterday  —  was  took  off  to 
cool,  ma'am,  and  the  '  Sybaris '  took  her  place, 
ma'am.  Glad  you's  pleased,  ma'am.  Six  is  all 
made  up,  ma'am."  And  then  to  Mr.  Sebastian, 
"  Will  the  ladies  retire  now  ? " 

Yes  —  the  ladies  would  retire.  They  bade 
Mr.  Edgar  good-by,  and  did  retire.  They  had 
slept  an  hour  quietly  before  the  express  came 
thundering  in  from  Cincinnati,  and  it  hardly 
waked  them ;  and  Effie'*  second  night  in  a 


64  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

Palace  and  Hester's  third  were  such  improve 
ments  on  the  uneasy  rest  of  those  not  used  to 
wearing  crowns,  that  they  swept  through  Ken 
tucky  all  ignorant  of  Kentucky,  and,  by  the  .time 
they  had  found  their  feet  and  their  eyes  in  the 
morning,  the  train  was  running  slow  as  they 
crossed  the  Cumberland  River,  in  Tennessee. 

"  I  owned  to  ignorance  of  Coshocton,"  said 
Hester,  "but  I  had  heard  of  the  Cumberland 
River." 

"  So  had  I,  who  am  no  school-ma'am,"  said 
Effie.  She  did  not  say  that  as  she  and  Hiram 
Brinkerhoff  walked  the  deck  on  the  "General 
Lytle,"  he  had  told  her  more  than  one  story 
of  his  campaigning  with  the  Army  of  the  Cum 
berland.  Why  did  not  she  ?  Because  Hester 
had  points  enough  for  jokes  already,  and  she  did 
not  choose  to  have  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  called 
"the  General."  Besides,  who  knew?  "Eight" 
and  "  ten  "  had  their  curtains  drawn  still,  and  so 
had  half  the  sections  on  the  other  side.  For  all 
Euphemia  Abgar  knew,  Mr.  Brinkerhoff  might 
be  behind  one  of  those  screens  of  worsted 
damask  next  them. 

So  she  only  said  "  I  am  no  school-ma'am." 
And  then,  when  their  toilet  was  made,  they  began 
watching  with  eager  curiosity  the  peculiarities  of 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  65 

Southern  life  and  of  a  Western  forest,  all  wholly 
new  to  them.  The  open  air  aspect  of  every  way 
station ;  the  wholly  new  forms  which  loafing  as 
sumes  in  any  strange  region  ;  the  infinite  variety 
and  picturesqueness  of  the  little  darkies  and  of 
the  big  ones  ;  the  extravagant  intricacy  of  the 
rags  they  wore;  the  queerness  of  the  mules;  the 
architecture  of  every  thing,  from  a  corn-barn  up 
to  a  plantation  house ;  then  those  strange  one- 
rail  fences  to  which  horses  were  tied  ;  and  the 
multitude  of  saddle  horses  in  every  village,  where 
at  the  North  would  have  been  wagons  ;  it  was 
all  a  curiosity.  "  Look  here,  do  see  this  !  "  this 
was  the  chorus,  and  Erne's  sketch  book  and 
pencil  were  in  busy  use,  while  Hester  was  pro 
voked  at  the  insufficiency  of  railroad  botanizing. 
Would  they  never  stop  long  enough  for  her  to 
gather  a  handful  of  specimens ! 

The  skilful  novel-reader  has  foreseen  that  as, 
gradually,  one  and  another  pair  of  the  damask 
curtains  were  pulled  back,  and  one  and  another 
passenger  swung  himself  out  into  the  passage, 
with  his  coat  on  or  without  according  as  he  were 
short  or  tall,  one  at  least,  perhaps  both  of  the 
gentlemen  who  left  New  York  in  the  "  Golconda  " 
appeared  before  the  ladies  who  were  their  com 
panions  to  Cincinnati.  In  this  foresight,  or  shall 

5 


66  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

we  say  in  this  conjecture,  the  skilful  reader  is  en 
tirely  wrong.     How  can  this  writer  say  whether 
Mrs.  Abgar  or  Miss  Sutphen,  as  they  saw  the  cata 
comb  of  the  night  gradually  assume  the  aspect  of 
a  drawing-room  by  day,  had  any  curious   ques 
tion  whether  they  might  recognize  their  travelling 
companions  ?     Two  German  women  with  a  little 
child,  two  Jews,  an  old  man  who  seemed  very 
sick,  with  a  poor,  pale  wife  taking  care  of  him, 
and  one  or  two  very  insignificant  men,  very  tall 
and  very  thin,  who   might  have  been  going  to 
Memphis  and  St.  Louis  to  buy  or  sell  mules,  or 
might  have  been  agents  of  Brigham  Young  re 
turning  to  report  progress,  but  who  carried  lno 
sign  of  what  they  were ;  these  were  the  most  of 
the    passengers:  —  but   an    indifferent   looking 
party,  not  encouraging  to  the  student  of  romance. 
When  "  Fourteen  "  at  last  gave  up  its  dead,  the 
porter  flew  at  the  curtains  and  "  redded  "  it  with 
glad  promptness,  and  then  all  parties  felt  that 
day  had  at  last  begun.     The  day  was  delightful. 
They  could  open  their  windows.     And,  without, 
the  earlier  trees  and  the  first  flowers  gave  token 
of  spring. 

"  We  are  more  than  half  way  to  San  Antonio," 
said  Hester,  who  had  been  ciphering  and  meas 
uring  over  her  Guide,  "and  I  have  not  read 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  67 

three  chapters  in  the  '  Strange  Adventures  of  a 
Phaeton.'  "  She  took  out  from  her  bag  that 
charming  novel. 

"  Lucky  for  me,"  said  Erne.  "  The  minute  you 
are  well  in,  I  may  occupy  myself  till  you  are 
done." 

"  What  a  compliment !  that  William  Black  and 
my  dearest  friend  should  be  balanced  against  each 
other,  and  that  my  dearest  Effie  should  be  the 
least  bit  jealous  of  William.  I  will  not  read  one 
word  of  the  '  Phaeton '  till  I  see  you  deep  in 
Racine." 

For  Effie  had  bought  in  Louisville  a  little  sec 
ond-hand  copy  of  Racine's  plays,  which  some 
school-girl  who  had  "  finished  her  education  "  had 
sold  at  a  book  shop  for  money  with  which  to  buy 
a  quarter-pound  of  caramels. 

"  Poor  dear  Racine  !  To  think  of  matching  him 
against  William  Black.  I  will  read  you  a  little 
without  opening  the  book." 

So  she  repeated  in  the  genuine  French  tragedy 
swing : 
"  Indeed  —  my  dear  girl  —  we  shall  come  —  to  the  river, 

I  know  — that  we  go  — for  I  feel  — the  floor  quiver  ! 

The  man  — by  my  side  — has  come  in  with  a  broom  — 

I  must  take  —  up  my  shawl  —  and  must  give  him  more 

room. 
Hettie  laughed.     "Very  well  for  a  beginner. 


68  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

But  I  —  have  I  not  heard  the  classes  read  Berenice 
or  Athalie  ?  I  can  give  it  to  you  with  the  epi 
grams.  You  should  have  an  epigram  at  every 
second  line.  No  great  matter  what  they  mean. 
How  is  this  ? 

"The  boy  —  who  sells  nuts  —  and  is  making  that  noise, 
Forgets —  oh,  good  heaven  —  that  the  nuts  may  sell  boys  ! 
Oh,  my  soul  —  is  the  word  — of  the  angels  above 
That  the  angels  below  do  not  smile  on  his  love !  " 

They  both  laughed,  as  people  free  from  a  win 
ter's  work  will  laugh  at  sheer  nonsense  in  the 
exquisite  freedom  of  a  palace  car.  It  shares  with 
a  steamship  the  luxury  of  having  no  door-bell 
and  no  postman.  But  in  the  steamship  you  are 
sea-sick  all  the  time  if  you  have  any  brains.  In 
the  palace  car,  unless  you  have  been  fool  enough 
to  travel  on  the  short  curves  of  the  Baltimore  and 
Ohio  road,  your  brains  are  your  own,  and  your 
stomach's  lord  sits  lightly  on  his  throne.  It  is  the 
one  place  known  to  modern  civilization  where  an 
honest  man  can  be  free  from  bores.'  A  dishonest 
man  earns  the  same  privilege  in  the  house  of  cor 
rection  or  the  State  prison. 

"  Hush  !  hush  !"  whispered  Effie,  as  Hester  ran 
on  with  her  nonsense.  And  indeed  the  whole  car 
was  hushed,  to  listen  to  the  weird  strain  with 
which  a  little  German  woman  sang  her  baby  to 
sleep.  She  had  come  into  the  Palace  at  Paris  : 


OF  A    PULLMAN. 


69 


'  Uf 'm  Berge  da  geht  der  Wind, 
Da  wiegt  -die  Maria  ihr  Kind. 

Mit  ihrer  schlohengelweissen  Hand  ; 
Sie  hat  'dazu  auch  kein  Wiegenband. 
;  Ach!  Joseph,  lieber  Joseph  mein, 
Ach  !  hilf  mir  wiegen  mein  Knabelein  !  ' 
:Wie  kann  ich  dir  denn  dein  Knablein  wieg'n? 
Ich  kann  ja  kaum  selber  die  Finger  bieg'n.' 
'Schum,  schei,  schum,  schei.'  " 


m 


The  girls  listened  with  pleasure  —  everybody 
listened  with  pleasure.     "Go  on  with  your  old 


70  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

novel,"  said  Effie,  "  I  will  go  and  help  her  put  her 
child  to  sleep." 

And  so  she  did ;  and  then  she  had  a  long  talk 
with  the  mother.  And  when  she  came  back,  an 
hour  after,  and  Hester  was  willing  to  look  up  from 
the  "  Phaeton,"  Effie  showed  her  this  little  version 
of  the  song ; 

"  Over  the  hills  the  tempests  sweep, 
Mary  rocks  her  boy  to  sleep ; 

She  rocks  him  with  her  snow-white  hand, 
Because  she  has  no  cradle-band. 
1  Dear  Joseph,  Joseph,  pray  come  here, 
And  help  me  rock  my  baby  dear.' 
*  And  how  can  I  your  little  baby  tend  ? 
For  you  see  I  cannot  my  fingers  bend.' 
'  Schum,  schei,  schum,  schei.'  " 

Hester  hummed  it,  and  Effie  hummed  it.     "  I 
think  *  schum,  schei/  is  excellently  translated." 
"  So  do  I." 

"What  is  a  cradle-band?" 
"Just  what  she  could  not  tell  me." 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


CHAPTER   VII 

"  T^ATHER  of  Waters,  indeed,"  said  Hester, 
as  they  came  to  the.  Mississippi  before 
they  expected.  It  was  not  yet  four  o'clock,  when 
the  train  was  due  at  Memphis ;  but  here  were 
already  waters  "  to  right  of  them,"  waters  "  to 
left  of  them."  How  if  the  river  should  be  in 
front  of  them  also  ? 

The  truth  was  that  the  Father  of  Waters  was 
on  a  rampage.  He  had  come  to  meet  them.  It 
proved  afterwards  that  he  had  never  rampaged 
more  boldly.  And  here  were  coves  where  had 
not  often  been  coves  —  daughters  or  sons  of  his 
they  were,  according  to  Effie.  People  were  go 
ing  in  tubs,  on  planks,  and  in  canoes,  from  one 
cabin  to  another.  Carts  were  standing  up  to  the 
hubs  of  the  wheels  in  water.  All  things  brought 
back  to  Mrs.  Abgar  the  delights  of  a  freshet  in 
her  childhood  ;  when,  to  say  truth,  she  was  cap 
tain  of  the  fleet  and  led  out  the  adventurous 
girls  of  Northampton  upon  the  prohibited  but 


72  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

too  delightful  excursions  which  they  took  upon 
boards  or  cellar  doors. 

Memphis  itself,  however,  was  not  under  water. 
Memphis  is  a  city  founded  by  General  Jackson 
and  two  friends.  At  one  time  he  owned  half  of 
the  original  town  plot.  President's  Island  still 
preserves  his  memory.  + 

"If  there  are  no  pyramids  yet,  there  are  as 
good  inundations  as  on  the  Nile,"  said  Hester, 
as  they  adjusted  themselves  in  a  very  long  om 
nibus,  which  was  to  take  them  to  the  Peabody 
House. 

"You  will  see  a  very  interesting  mound, 
madam,  if  you  are  curious  in  antiquities,"  said 
Dr.  Summerfield  their  gray-haired  friend,  —  so 
evidently  a  doctor  of  divinity  and  agent  of  the 
Southern  Branch  Publication  Board  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  eleventh 
secession,  that  there  could  be  no  impropriety  in 
his  again  addressing  a  traveller.  Mrs.  Abgar 
thanked  him— and  then,  as  before,  he  very 
kindly  helped  her  in  her  curiosity  about  the 
Indians. 

And  at  the  Peabody  House  their  hotel  life 
with  its  intricacies  and  its  solaces,  began.  For 
lorn  enough  to  retire  from  breakfast  to  a  ghastly 
ladies'  parlor,  with  horribly  elegant  mirrors  in 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  73 

tarnished  or  burnished  frames,  with  never  a  book 
except  a  directory  from  the  town  —  or,  by  the 
kindness  of  the  Bible  Society,  a  Bible !  But,  on 
the  contrary,  a  certain  satisfaction,  be  it  con 
fessed,  in  the  chances  for  silence  if  one  wished  to 
be  silent ;  and  for  naps  if  one  wished  to  nap 
unhelped  and  uncriticised.  Of  this  indepen 
dence  be  it  observed,  however,  the  charm  was 
gone,  for  both  these  ladies,  in  about  six  hours 
after  they  had  tried  it. 

The  people  in  the  house  were  as  thoughtful 
and  civil  as  if  the  travellers  had  been  princesses. 
"  See  what  it  is,"  said  Hester  proudly,  "  to 
travel  without  escort."  The  "  Chester  Boone  " 
might  be  there  the  next  day  at  noon  —  probably 
not  till  night  —  nor  must  the  ladies  be  surprised 
if  she  did  not  come  in  till  morning  of  the  next 
day.  This  was  the  report  of  the  hotel  clerk  to 
them.  Meanwhile  would  the  ladies  have  a  car 
riage  ?  Or  if  they  preferred  to  walk,  the  sunset 
from  the  bluff  was  a  fine  sight,  and  they  would 
see  the  boats  go  off. 

Hester  thanked  him,  and  when  he  was  gone, 
explained  to  Effie  that  this  meant  that  they  were 
booked  to  stay  in  Memphis  for  eight-and-forty 
hours  at  least  —  that  river  boats  never  came  as 
early  as  they  said  they  should.  "So  now  you 


74  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

may  get  out  your  colors,  dear  —  you  may  paint 
my  portrait,  or  that  dear  old  black  wash-woman's, 
or  you  may  write  a  treatise  on  the  antediluvian 
history  of  Tennessee." 

In  fact,  the  ladies  wholly  unpacked,  took  pos 
session  of  the  drawers  of  their  bureaux,  got  out 
their  books  upon  the  tables,  pinned  up  some  of 
Effie's  sketches  on  the  doors,  and  gave  their 
room  a  very  habitable  air. 

They  did  take  the  sunset  walk  on  the  bluff. 
And  for  the  first  time  they  understood,  or  began 
to  understand,  what  is  the  grandeur  of  the  Mis 
sissippi.     The  western  sky  was  all  a  blaze  of 
crimson  and  gold.     Low  down  —  insignificant  in 
every  sense  in  comparison  with  those  piles  of 
gorgeous  color  above  and  with  the  rolling  ocean 
below  it  —  was  the  strip  of  western  forest,  all 
percolated   with    the  risen  flood,  which  makes 
what  is  called  the  western  bank  of  the  river. 
As  if  this  river  knew  of  banks  or  bars  !     That 
thread  of  woods  —  for  it  did  not  seem  like  a  thread 
of  land  —  was  as  nothing  when  measured  against 
the  piles  of  cloud  above  and  the  world  of  waters 
below.     The  girls  themselves  stood  high  above 
the  flood,  though  the  flood  was  higher,  men  said, 
than  it   had  ever  been  before.     What  a  flood! 
How    angry!      How   sullen!     How    resistless! 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  75 

"  If  a  man  fall  in  from  one  of  the  boats,"  said  the 
Doctor  of  Divinity,  who  had  joined  them,  "  even  his 
body  is  never  found,"  Great  tangles  of  floating 
trees  were  whirling  round  and  round.  Glassy 
patches,  which  seemed  perfectly  smooth,  were 
bordered  by  ripples  and  even  strips  of  rough 
waves,  the  glass  reflecting  the  gold  of  the  sunset 
or  the  blue  of  the  upper  sky,  and  the  waves 
black  and  angry. 

"  Power  —  and  wrath  —  and  indifference  !  " 
said  Effie. 

"  I  never  saw  it  before  but  at  Niagara,"  said 
Hester,  shuddering.  "Father  of  Waters,  in 
deed  ! " 

What  Mr.  Alger  calls  the  element  of  "  human 
pathos"  was  not  wanting  in  the  majestic  scene 
around  the  girls,  and  below  them  as  they  stood 
on  the  water-channelled  bluff  were  thousands  of 
people  coming,  going,  or,  like  themselves,  rest 
ing  and  looking  on.  How  insignificant  they  all 
seemed  in  comparison  with  the  flood  !  Was  this 
perhaps  a  daily  promenade  of  Memphis  ?  Or 
was  this  an  exceptional  day  ?  The  ladies  did 
not  know.  There  was  a  circus  in  full  blast  on 
one  side  ;  below,  on  one  of  the  steamboats,  was 
a  band  of  music.  In  the  river  —  on  their  side  of 
the  river — forging  through  all  the  whirl  and 


76  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

rush  and  eddy  were  little  spiteful  tugs  dashing 
hither  and  thither,  dragging  great  oblong  barges 
of  coal.  Giant  steamboats  beginning  to  cough 
and  puff  and  wheeze,  and  to  give  other  signs  of 
life  were  receiving  their  freight  and  passengers. 
Bells  would  ring,  the  band  would  play  more  vig 
orously  than  ever,  drays,  carts,  and  carriages 
would  hurry,  then  the  final  words  of  land-lubbers, 
and  at  last  the  Elephant  lifted  his  great  trunk 
of  a  landing-plank,  and  the  boat  dashed  out  and 
away  to  be  forgotten,  while  the  wild  raging  in 
different  river  whirled  and  eddied  on  as  if  there 
had  been  no  boat  there.  The  whole  was  a  most 
exciting  and  eventful  scene. 

The  next  morning,  after  a  late  breakfast,  Effie 
did  take  out  all  her  paints,  set  her  palette  nicely, 
broke  to  pieces  a  nice  large  cigar-box  which  the 
porter  had  found  for  her,  and  on  its  largest  side 
had  begun  to  try,  "  just  to  try,"  she  said,  some  of 
the  wonderful  memories  of  the  sunset,  when 
there  was  a  tap  heard  at  the  door. 

"  Come  in  !  " 

It  was  the  clerk  of  the  hotel.  "  I  am  sorry  to 
tell  you,  ladies,  that  if  you  take  the  'Chester 
Boone '  you  must  leave  at  once.  The  water  is  so 
high  that  she  is  much  earlier  than  we  expected. 
They  send  us  word  that  she  has  rounded  the 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  77 

point,  and  that  means  she  is  at  the  landing  by 
this  time.  She  takes  a  little  freight  here,  and 
will  be  off,  they  tell  me,  in  half  an  hour." 

"  In  half  an  hour !  These  trunks  must  be 
packed,  this  palette  cleaned,  nay,  these  dresses 
changed  and  these  bills  paid  in  half  an  hour ! " 

"  I  have  ordered  a  carriage,  madam,"  said  the 
respectful  clerk,  "and  it  will  be  ready  in  ten 
minutes." 

"  In  ten  minutes  !  "  screamed  Hester  as  he  left 
the  room.  Effie  said  nothing,  but  her  brushes 
were  already  wrapped  in  paper,  to  be  cleaned  on 
board  the  boat,  and  the  palette  was  in  its  tin 
case  for  travel ! 


78  WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

A  ND  Effie  never  once  reviled  Hester,  nor 
•**•  said,  "  It  was  you  who  said  a  river-boat  is 
always  behind  time." 

Ten  minutes  saw  the  carriage  at  the  door. 
Ten  minutes  more  saw  the  girls  in  the  carriage. 
In  ten  minutes  more  they  were  in  the  "  Chester 
Boone,"  had  been  introduced  to  her  clerk  by  the 
young  man  whom  the  hotel  clerk  had  sent  with 
them,  and  this  officer  had  said  to  them  that  they 
would  be  amused  by  the  view  from  the  pilot 
house.  He  had  explained,  alas  !  that  the  Cham- 
pernoons  were  not  on  board,  after  all !  He  had 
escorted  them  up  to  the  lofty  pilot-house,  and 
there  of  course  they  found  — 

Not  Frederic  Haydock  nor  Hiram  Brinkerhoff, 
but  the  Doctor  of  Divinity. 

And  he  explained  to  them  what  they  could 
never  have  known.  "  My  dear,"  said  Effie,  in  a 
half  aside,  "  Do  you  see  they  are  beginning  the 
pyramids  ?  Do  you  see  those  heaps  of  square 
stones  half  way  up  the  bluff  ? " 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  79 

In  fact  these  solid  heaps  looked  like  causeways 
for  giants  where  the  giants  preferred  to  have  the 
stepping-stones  square  rather  than  hexagonal. 
They  frowned  down  upon  the  waves  of  the 
freshet. 

"  Those  cubical  stones,  madam,"  said  the  agent 
of  the  publishing  board,  "are  paving  stones. 
When  the  river  goes  down,  the  bank  will  be 
paved  with  them." 

"Why,  have  they  only  just  come  ? "  said  Effie. 

"  Oh  no,  indeed  !  "  said  he,  laughing.  "  But 
they  are  too  valuable  to  be  swept  down  by  the 
flood.  They  are  taken  up  before  it  comes  and 
stored  there  against  the  dry  weather." 

To  this  hour  Effie  does  not  know  whether  he 
was  chaffing  her.  But  he  was  not. 

Both  of  them  had  their  sketch-books  out.  It 
was  all  so  fascinating.  They  never  tired  of  the 
mules,  they  were  so  queer.  Every  black  boy  was 
more  wildly  picturesque,  not  to  say  mysterious, 
in  his  oddity  than  his  predecessor.  The  "  Chester 
Boone"  did  not  quite  keep  to  her  promise  of 
"  half  an  hour,"  but  in  an  hour  from  the  time 
when  Effie  set  her  palette  the  "  Chester  Boone  " 
and  the  travellers  were  under  way. 

And  the  kind  Doctor  of  Divinity  showed  the 
ladies  their  first  Indian  mound. 


80  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

Ah !  if  it  were  the  duty  of  this  writer  only  to 
make  a  little  romance,  in  six  parts,  of  the  sail 
from  Memphis  to  Helena !  Material  enough  is 
there,  though  that  romance  should  be  the  three 
orthodox  volumes  of  Mr.  Murray  ! 

"  But," 
as  was  before  said, 

"  But  wiser  Fate  says,  No." 

Unwritten  be  the  history  of  that  evening.  Un 
written  its  songs,  its  theological  conversations, 
its  weird  torchlight  landings,  the  dance  in  the 
after  cabin,  the  poker  in  the  cabin  before. 

The  next  morning  the  ladies  met  by  appoint 
ment,  early,  that  they  might  have  a  walk  on  the 
forward  deck  upstairs   before  breakfast  and  see 
the  sunrise.     The  sunrise  was,  of  course,  beauti 
ful,  but,  as  it  happened,  on  this  morning  it  had 
not  the  grandeur  of  the  sunset.     The  morning 
was  cold  enough  for  them  to  want  to  walk  briskly, 
and  every  thing  was  exciting  and  interesting.  The 
"  Tow-heads,"  as  the  queer  tufts  at  the  end  of 
the  cut-offs  are  called,  the  occasional  passage  of 
the  boat  through  a  cut-off,  the  tints  of  green  be 
ginning  to  appear  on  the  shore,  and  once  the  salute 
of  the  "  Montezuma,"   as  they  met  her  blithely 
working  her  way  up  the  river— such  things,  all 
strange,  kept  them  on  the  lookout.      Then  the 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  8 1 

profound  solitude  !  That  this  giant  ship  which 
bore  them  should  be  forging  on  through  this 
wilderness,  where,  but  that  they  had  seen  the 
"  Montezuma,"  there  was  no  other  sign  of  man. 
And  she,  she  left  only  that  faint  shred  of  smoke 
on  the  air  to  show  that  she  had  lived. 

"  That  smoke  wraith  represents  history,  dear 
Hester." 

But  just  as  Effie  said  this  there  was  token  of 
man's  being  again.  A.  ting  on  the  pilot's  bell 
made  them  look  up  to  him,  and  then  they  climbed 
to  his  friendly  house  to  ask  what  manoeuvre  was 
in  progress.  He  pointed  far,  far  away,  and  com 
pelled  them  to  see  a  little  speck  which  he  said 
was  a  flag,  a  signal.  So  the  great  boat  devoured 
the  waters,  made  nothing  of  the  miles  between, 
and,  before  the  ladies  could  believe  it,  was  near 
enough  to  the  rag  or  flag  for  them  to  see  a  man 
standing  on  the  little  strip  of  green  which  the 
pilot  said  was  the  levee.  Water  behind  him, 
water  before  him.  He  looked  like  Campbell's 
last  man,  or  like  some  Algonkin's  first.  It  was 
he  who  had  shown  the  flag. 

The  pilot  explained  that  a  road  ran  along  the 

top   of   the   levee  where   the   country  was  not 

flooded,  and  by  this  road  the  man  had  come. 

In  fact,  after  a  few  minutes,  he  pointed  out  the 

6 


82  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


wagon   which   the   man   had   left   in   the   bush 
beyond. 

Nearer  the  boat  swept,  and  nearer.  The  figure 
of  the  man,  his  features,  were  perfectly  plain. 
The  boat  touched,  the  gangway  was  lowered.  • 
Two  black  men  ran  down  from  the  "  Chester 
Boone"  and  seized  the  stranger's  wallet  and 
saddle-bags.  He  ran  up  the  plank  with  them 
and  the  boat  was  off. 

It  was  Frederic  Haydock. 

He  hurried  on  board,  and  before  his  foot  had 
well  touched  the  deck  the  great  gangway  rose 
and  pointed  heavenward  again.  The  pilot's 
bells  struck  "  ting  ting,"  the  giant  snorted  his 
satisfaction,  and  the  "  Chester  Boone  "  resumed 
her  way  through  what  was  solitude  again,  now 
that  she  had  absorbed  this  little  atom  of  outside 
life. 

Effie  waited  for  an  instant,  just  an  instant,  for 
Hester  to  speak  first,  as  she  almost  always  did. 

But  Hester  did  not  speak  first,  and  then  Effie 
knew  that  there  was  such  a  secret  between  them 
as  there  had  never  been  before.  And  she  spoke 
first. 

"  I  am  so  glad  he  has  come,"  said  she.  "  We 
did  miss  them  all  day  yesterday,  for  all  dear  Dr. 
Summerfield." 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  83 

By  this  time  Hester  was  sure  she  could  speak 
carelessly,  and  she  said,  "  Yes,  I  am  very  glad  he 
is  here.  But  how  in  the  world  do  you  suppose 
it  happens  ?  And  where  is  the  other  ?  " 

"  How  does  it  happen,  you  goose  ?  It  happens 
that  he  knows  who  is  on  this  boat.  That  is  how 
it  happens." 

"Breakfast  ready,- miss,"   grinned  and  spoke 
the   waiter   from    below.      They   hurried   down 
stairs ;  and,  as  Erne  had  expected,  but  had  not 
dared  to  say,  next  their  seats  they  found  a  chair 
turned  down  by  the  waiter,  as  if  reserved  for  a 
passenger  delayed ;  and  Dr.  Summerfield's  seat 
was  changed.     He  was  sitting  on  the  opposite 
side   of   the   table.     Effie   made   the    breakfast 
loiter  as  long  as  she  could,  from  the  beginning. 
But  she  need  not  have  taken  this  trouble.    Fred 
eric  Haddock's  toilet  was  made,  and  well  made, 
in  five  minutes.      He  came  and  shook  hands, 
and   sat   down   cheerily  and  freshly;    and  you 
would  never  guess  that  he  had  been  all  night 
riding  across  northern  Mississippi  in  a  planter's 
wagon,  that  he  might  strike  the  "  Boone  "  as  he 
had  done. 

"  This  time  we  did  not  expect  you,  Mr.  Hay- 
dock,"  said  Effie,  merrily. 

Hester  Sutphen  wondered  if  she  were  blush- 


84  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

ing.     Why  in  the  world  need  Effie  have  said 
that  nonsense  upstairs  ? 

"  I  am  amazed  at  my  own  success,"  said  he, 
frankly.  "The  moment  I  found  the  'Boorie' 
was  off,  with  you  on  board,  I  was  determined  that 
I  would  overhaul  her  somewhere." 

"  Good  for  you,"  would  have  been  Effie's  ejac 
ulation  had  she.  been  used  to  slang,  even  in  its 
more  gracious  forms,  and  had  she  dared  say  what 
she  thought.  But  she  and  Hester  both  silently 
respected  the  courage  of  the  man. 

And  so  a  jolly  breakfast  follows.  Haydock 
was  courtesy  itself  to  Dr.  Summerfield.  He 
made  that  nice  old  man  find  out  that  in  taking 
care  of  these  ladies  he  had  won  Mr.  Frederic 
Haydock's  abiding  regard,  if  that  were  worth 
any  thing.  Haydock  told,  with  great  humor, 
the  details  of  his  adventures  the  day  before  —  of 
how  and  when  he  learned  that  the  ladies  were 
in  Memphis,  and  then  how  he  took  the  afternoon 
train  and  pursued.  He  did  not  tell,  nor  did 
Hester  guess,  what  Effie  figured  out  from  the 
guide-book  afterwards  —  that  his  night-ride 
acros's  those  rough  country  roads  was  well-nigh 
forty  miles  long. 

Then  followed  an  ideal  morning.  Oh,  thou 
hunted  and  baited  child  of  civilization,  think,  if 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  85 

thou  canst,  what  it  would  be  to  spend  one  morn 
ing  of  life  without  a  bore,  without  a  newspaper, 
without  a  mail,  without  a  telegram,  without  a 
beggar,  and  without  a  morning  call !  Nay,  think 
more  than  this  !  Think  what  it  would  be  to 
have  these  evils  wholly  impossible  to  thee.  Then 
imagine  a  bland  April  morning  of  the  latitude  of 
Mississippi — a  new  flora  passing  like  a  shifting 
panorama  —  shade  if  you  wish  shade,  sun  if  you 
wish  sun  —  imagine  books,  pencils,  paints,  pa 
pers,  ink,  canvas,  a  good  piano,  and  dear  friends 
—  and  .then  say  whether  life  has  a  right  to  ask 
any  thing  more  than  it  finds  on  such  a  morning 
on  such  a  craft  as  the  "  Chester  Boone  "  ? 

Dr.  Summerfield  asked  Effie  what  was  meant 
by  "  tone  "  in  pictures. 

Effte  said  if  he  would  come  out  on  the  western 
guard  —  they  called  it  "  western  "  though  it  often 
looked  north  and  south  —  she  would  show  him 
Ruskin's  experiment  which  illustrates  his  defini 
tion.  And  so  before  Dr.  Summerfield  knew  it 
he  and  Erfie  were  talking  art,  and  he  was  watch 
ing  her  practice  for  three  hours  there. 

And  Frederick  Haydock  and  Hester  Sutphen 
were  walking  up  and  down  the  deck  forward  till 
she  was  tired.  And  then  he  had  made  for  her  a 
seat  where  there  was  no  wiad  and  just  a  little 


86  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

warmth  from  the  chimney.  And  he  was  telling 
her  first  about  old  school  life  at  Antioch ;  what  a 
noble,  unselfish  creature  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  was ; 
what  a  loss  it  was  to  him  to  lose  Hiram,  and  how 
happy  they  had  been  together.  He  told  her  of 
the  war,  how  he  had  come  down  this  very  river 
with  Sherman,  told  of  adventures  almost  in  sight 
of  where  the  boat  ran.  Why !  he  came,  nobody 
could  tell  how,  to  telling  of  his  experiences  in 
New  Orleans  since ;  what  is  the  life  of  a  lonely 
youngster  there  ;  where  it  touches  other  life  and 
where  it  does  not ;  how  lonely  it  is,  and  what 
else  it  is! 

And  Frederic  Haydock  did  not  do  all  the  talk 
ing.  Hester  Sutphen  told  him  things,  which  she 
might  have  put  in  the  newspaper,  but  which  in 
truth  she  had  never  told  to  a  human  being.  She 
told  of  her  early  life,  of  her  mother's  death,  of 
Norton  and  the  Wheaton  Academy,  and  how 
strange  it  seemed  to  her  when  she  was  hardly 
seventeen  to  be  managing  for  herself  as  a  teacher 
of  girls  in  the  Southwest  Milan  Seminary.  She 
fairly  caught  herself  asking  him,  as  if  he  had 
been  Effie  Abgar  herself,  if  he  thought  she  did 
wrong  when  she  defied  the  secretary  of  the  trus 
tees  at  Southwest  Milan. 

And  Frederic  Haydock  had  to  bite  his  tongue 
out  lest  he  should  say, 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


"  You  cannot  do  wrong.  If  you  said  it,  it  was 
right." 

But  he  did  not  say  that.  Metaphorically  he 
did  bite  his  tongue  out,  and  then  with  the  new 
tongue,  which  came  in  the  place  of  that  bitten 
one,  he  said: 

"  I  do  not  know  what  you  call  right.  I  know 
that  I  should  have  been  much  pleased  with  my 
self  if  I  had  been  half  so  civil.  And  I  am  so  glad 
you  left  the  brutes,  if  you  did  leave  them." 

"  Leave  them  !  "  said  Hester.  "  I  left  that 
horrid  place  before  night,  and  I  hope  I  may 
never  see  it  again.  My  dear  Mr.  Haydock,  I  did 
not  know  "  — 

But  what  she  did  not  know  Fred  Haydock  was 
not  told.  Just  at  that  moment  from  the  deck 
below,  a  clear  tenor  voice  sang : 


I  sought  my  Lord  in  de  wilderness,   in  de  wil-der-ness,  in  de 


%• 


5P     3 
«7 


wil-der-ness;     I  sought  my  Lord  in    de      wil-der-ness,  For 


*^  I'm  a-go-ing    home.        For    I'm  go-ing  home,  For  I'm  going 


88 


WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


home;    I'm  just    git-ting     read-y,     For  I'm    go -ing   home. 


The  wild,  clear  notes  rang  out  so  as  to  startle 
them  both.     Hester  ran  forward  to  look  over  the 
rail,  and  Haydock,  without  so  much  eagerness, 
followed.     Neither  he  nor  she  knew  that  three 
hours  had  passed  since  breakfast. 
The  voice  went  on  : 
I  found  free  grace  in  de  wilderness, 

In  de  wilderness,  in  de  wilderness  ; 
I  found  free  grace  in  de  wilderness, 
For  I'm  a  going  home. 
For  I'm  going  home,  for  I'm  going  home  ; 
I'm  just  gitting  ready,  for  I'm  going  home. 

With  the  third  verse  some  twenty  of  the  deck 
hands  took  up  the  chorus : 

My  father  preaches  in  de  wilderness, 

In  de  wilderness,  in  de  wilderness, 

And  so  the  weird  song  went  on  ;  —  and  Mr.  Hay- 
dock's  tete-a-tete  with  Miss  Sutphen  was,  for  the 
moment,  ended. 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  89 


CHAPTER   IX. 

>\  S  they  went  south  the  shores  grew  greener, 
and  the  air  more  soft.     Once,  as  they  ran 
in  to  the  levee  for  some  wood,  Effie  broke  off  with 
her  own  hand  a  branch  of   fresh  leaves,  quite 
large.     Fred  Haydock  told  her  that  she  was  the 
dove  after  the  deluge.     And  after  every  meal, 
dinner,  supper,  breakfast  —  how  few  they  were 
when  one  came  to  count  them  —  it  seemed  more 
and  more  a   thing   of  course   that,   while   Effie 
painted  on  the  after-guards,  or  wrote  in  the  after- 
cabin,  Mr.  Haydock  and  Miss  Sutphen  should  be 
sitting  in  some  shelter  forward,  or  that  he  should 
be  reading  to  her  the  "  Ring  and  the  Book  "  while 
she  knitted,  or  that  they  should  be  walking  to 
gether  for  exercise,  or  in  the  evening,  they  should 
be  singing  together  at  the  same  piano.     It  was 
clear  enough,  however,  the  first  time  that  Fred 
Haydock   sang,  that   he  was   not   the   absolute 
tenor  who  had  sung  the  praise  of  his  own  Amy  in 
the  dark  Palace  on  the  banks  of  the  Juniata. 


90  WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES 

And  all  three  of  them  —  all  four,  if  you  count 
in  Dr.  Summerfield,  who  was  very  lovely  and 
kind  all  the  time  —  all  four  came  to  be  good 
friends  with  the  other  cabin  travellers.  They 
had  good  novels  which  they  read  aloud  in  the 
ladies'  end  of  the  cabin.  At  night  they  had  glees 
or  psalmody.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee 
River  the  boat  had  taken  on  a  very  wild  but  very 
simple  family,  who  had  somehow  heard  of  Texas 
and  were  going  there,  with  the  most  pathetic 
ignorance  as  to  what  and  where  it  was,  and  why 
they  were  goring.  But,  from  the  old  grandsire  of 
eighty-five,  who  seemed  for  ever  young  when 
there  was  a  question  as  to  a  new  home,  down  to 
shy  girls  of  four  years  and  adventurous  boys  of 
six  and  seven,  dressed  in  the  most  extraordinary 
costume  which  ever  the  wit  of  Northern  Ala 
bama  devised,  all  were  delighted  to  be  on  the 
move. 

And  to  the  magic  of  Erne's  kindness  this  tall 
handsome  girl,  shy  as  the  children,  who  for  a  day 
staid  in  her  state-room  she  was  so  frightened,  re 
vealed  herself  as  a  bride.  Never  did  the  designer, 
in  distant  Lawrence,  who  painted  the  pattern 
for  that  calico,  suppose  it  was  to  be  worn  as  a 
bride's  travelling  dress  !  But  no  matter  for  that ! 
As  true  a  heart  beat  under  it  as  ever  beat  under 


OF  A  PULLMAN.  91 

Madame  Demorest's  regulation  uniform,  and  she 
and  he,  so  soon  as  they  were  married  in  the  old 
home  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Alleghanies 
back  in  Western  Virginia,  had  determined  to  go 
to  Florida.  Why  to  Florida,  even  Effie,  with  all 
her  tact,  could  not  discover.  She  tried  them  with 
talk  of  oranges  and  sugar-cane  and  bananas. 
But  they  seemed  to  have  little  care  for  these 
things.  Even  Effie  could  not  imagine  that  that 
stout  young  bridegroom  had  a  hole  in  his  lungs. 
No  !  It  was  only  that  they  were  determined  that 
they  would  go  somewhere  and  that  they  had 
heard  of  Florida. 

"  Like  some  other  people  I  know,"  said  Hester, 
meekly,  "  who  might  be  sitting  over  a  hard  coal 
fire  now,  if  they  wanted  to." 

"  Only  they  did  not  want  to,"  said  Mrs.  Abgar, 
laughing.  "Dear  heart,  it  is  the  mania  of  the 
American  people.  They  must  '  pull  up  stakes ' 
and  travel." 

"Say,  rather,"  said  Dr.  Summerfield,  more 
wisely,  "it  is  the  mania  of  that  part  of  the 
American  people  whom  you  and  I  meet  in  steam 
boats.  If  we  wanted  to  study  the  traits  of  those 
who  stay  at  home  we  must  knock  at  the  doors  of 
their  homes  to  find  them." 

"  That's  true  enough  !    I  am  as  wise  as  the  Eng- 


92  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

lish  travellers  who  think  all  Americans  live  in 
hotels,  because  those  they  see  in  hotels  live  in 
them.  What  can  they  think  the  houses  they  ride 
by  are  built  for  ?  " 

They  had  poked  their  great  nose  upon  the  levee 
once  and  again,  —  now  to  leave  a  barrel,  now,  it 
would  seem,  only  to  leave  a  newspaper  —  perhaps 
to  take  an  order  —  once  to  leave  two  bedsteads,  a 
rocking-chair,  a  cooking-stove,  a  bride,  her  trunks 
and  a  bridegroom  ;  in  short,  for  any  device  by 
which  civilization  might  be  set  forward  in  what 
seemed  an  utter  wilderness.  It  was  quite  late  in 
the  afternoon  that  the  clerk  came  aft  for  the  pur 
pose  to  say  that  they  had  some  heavy  boilers  to 
land  at  Mr.  Van  Meter's  plantation,  and  perhaps 
the  ladies  would  like  to  walk. 

Like  to  !  —  of  course  they  did.  They  landed 
and  were  almost  tempted  to  kneel  like  crusaders 
and  kiss  the  sod,  so  delicious  was  it  to  find  spring 
really  in  sway,  —  to  gather  a  handful  of  even  the 
simplest  weeds.  They  struck  off,  up  the  river,  on 
the  levee  for  a  long  pull,  assured  that  they  might 
safely  be  gone  an  hour.  But — shall  it  be  con 
fessed? —  in  ten  minutes  Hester  was  frightened. 
If  the  "  Boone  "  should  go  with  all  their  house 
hold  goods,  and  they  have  to  spend  the  rest  of 
their  lives  in  Mississippi !  Dr.  Summerfield  tried 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  93 

to  reassure  her.  But  the  pleasure  of  the  walk 
was  gone,  and  after  pretending  they  were  not 
afraid  a  little  they  turned  back  with  one  accord, 
built  larger  their  branches  of  green  leaves,  and, 
like  Birnam  Wood  indeed,  approached  the  friendly 
monster. 

It  was  impossible  to  believe  that  they  had 
been  only  thirty  hours  on  the  boat.  In  that 
time  they  had  entered  on  a  wholly  new  arrange 
ment  of  time  and  life.  They  had  passed  from 
coal  fires  to  balmy  spring  weather  and  delicate 
green  foliage  ;  and  also  —  ah  me  !  —  Hester  Sut- 
phen  had  held  two  long  confidential  talks  with 
Fred  Haydock.  It  seemed  as  if  they  had  been 
a  month  on  the  voyage  and  the  boat  was  home.. 

As  they  drew  near  the  boat  a  gentleman  came 
out  from  a  little  whitewashed  shed  which  seemed 
to  be  an  outlying  building  of  the  plantation,  of 
which  the  larger  buildings  were  hidden  by  trees, 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  away.  He  took  out  money, 
which  he  gave  to  the  black  boy  by  his  side,  and 
then  with  rapid  step  advanced  to  the  "  Chester 
Boone,"  about  a  hundred  yards  in  front  of  our 
party.  The  boy  followed  with  his  carpet-bag. 

Frederic  Haydock  and  Hester  Sutphen  were 
walking  behind  Dr.  Summerfield  and  Mrs.  Abgar, 
occupied  with  each  other. 


94  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

Effie  had  her  eyes  open.  She  suddenly  made 
a  horrible  botch  about  something  Dr.  Summer- 
field  was  telling  her,  and  said  she  was  very  glad 
Mr.  Glass  was  deposed  by  his  Presbytery,  when 
she  did  not  in  the  least  know  what  she  was  say 
ing.  The  truth  was  that  she  was  simply  watch 
ing  the  stranger  and  the  black  boy.  At  last  she 
forced  herself  to  turn  back  and  say, 

"  Mr.  Haydock,  is  not  that  your  friend  Mr. 
Brinkerhoff  ? " 

Fred  Haydock  started,  had  the  question  re 
peated  to  him,  looked  forward  and  cried,  "  Of 
course,"  then  with  a  queer  school-boy  war-whoop 
and  three  shrill  calls,  "  Hi !  hi  !  hi  !  "  he  brought 
the  stranger  to  bay. 

The  moment  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  turned  he 
recognized  them.  A  minute  more  and  they  were 
all  together,  and  he  was  congratulating  himself 
that  he  had  not  taken  the  "  Morgan,"  as  she 
passed  down  that  very  day. 

To  say  the  truth  Effie  Abgar  was  not  very 
sorry.  For  she  had  felt  already  that  the  time 
might  come  when  Dr.  Summerfield  should  be 
perfectly  informed  as  to  tone,  color,  perspective, 
middle  distance,  foreground,  broken  lights,  mo 
tive  and  action ;  and  she  was  quite  certain  that 
she  had  herself  received  all  she  could  digest  as 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  95 

to  the  relations  between  the  Directors  of  the 
Publishing  Board  and  the  Trustees,  and  about 
the  legitimate  supervision  of  the  Board  of  Mana 
gers  and  the  President  on  the  affairs  of  both 
these  bodies. 

For  Frederic  Haydock  and  Hester  Sutphen, 
they  seemed  to  be  in  a  mood  in  which  most 
things  were  satisfactory.  Both  of  them  seemed 
to  think  it  was  quite  as  well  that  Hiram  Brink- 
erhoff  should  be  there.  They  would  have 
thought  it  quite  as  well  if  he  had  not  been  there. 

For  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  himself,  he  expressed 
himself  very  promptly  the  moment  they  were  all 
on  board. 

"  It  is  so  lucky  that  I  struck  you !  Have  you 
ever  seen  a  sugar  plantation,  Mrs.  Abgar  ?  " 

"  Only  in  Vermont,"  said  she.  "  We  put  on 
long  boots,  and  then  I  filled  mine  with  wet  snow 
and  retired  ignominiously." 

"  Then  you  are  just  the  person  to  see  the 
finest  plantation  in  the  United  States,  and  I 
believe  in  the  world.  If  you  count  in  the  men 
and  women  who  carry  it  on,  you  will  say  so  too." 

Fred  Haydock  and  Miss  Sutphen  were  by 
this  time  looking  at  something  in  his  scrap-book, 
which  he  had  brought  out  from  his  state-room. 

"  Miss  Sutphen  !  "  cried  the  impetuous  Hiram, 


96  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

eager  in  his  plan,  "  let  me  interrupt  you  for  a 
moment,  for  this  must  be  settled  before  the  boat 
starts.  Would  not  you  like  to  make  a  visit  at 
the  finest  sugar  plantation  on  the  river?  We 
could  stop  to-morrow  night." 

"  What  did  you  say  ?  "  said  Hester,  startled  a 
little,  and  hardly  getting  her  vessel  into  action. 

"  I  want  to  persuade  you  ladies  to  stop  at  a 
beautiful  plantation  on  the  river  and  see  the  way 
people  live  here.  Will  you  stay  if  Mrs.  Abgar 
will  ? " 

"  Stay  —  where  ? "  said  Mrs.  Abgar.  "  This  is 
the  first  I  have  heard  of  it.  You  do  not  expect 
us  to  stay  awywhere  where  we  are  not  invited." 

"No,  indeed;  but  if  you  will  only  do  it  you 
will  be  invited  in  no  time.  This  is  the  whole 
story,"  —  and  Hiram  had  to  speak  fast,  for  the 
bell  was  beginning  to  ring  the  wandering  pas 
sengers  on  board  —  "I  am  on  my  way  down  to 
this  earthly  paradise,  a  fine  plantation  on  the 
coast,  Mrs.  Abgar,  it  is  called  Arcadie  ;  is  not 
that  a  pretty  name  ?  Mr.  Le  Clerc  will  be  de 
lighted  if  you  will  both  make  them  a  visit,  and 
Madame  Le  Clerc  and  my  lovely  friend  Eugenie 
and  Miss  Ferguson,  they  are  all  so  nice.  Now 
just  say  you  could  possibly  stop  there,  and  they 
would  be  so  much  pleased  to  see  you."  Then,  as 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  97 

he  saw  his  friend  Fred's  woe-begone  face,  Hiram 
added,  "  If  you  would  all  give  up  just  two  days  to 
see  this  beautiful  place,  why  you  would  enjoy  it 
as  much  in  one  way  as  you  did  Cincinnati  in 
another." 

By  this  happy  word  "  all  "  poor  Fred  was  saved 
from  the  lowest  depths.  If  he  was  not  to  be 
counted  out  from  the  party  they  might  stay  a 
month  for  all  he  cared. 

But  Mrs.  Abgar  was  herself  again.  Without 
the  least  asperity,  but  with  perfectly  defined 
firmness,  she  said,  "  Oh  think  a  moment,  Mr. 
Brinkerhoff,  and  you  see  it  is  out  of  the  ques 
tion.  How  could  Miss  Sutphen  and  I  think  of 
pushing  ourselves,  never  so  indirectly,  on  people 
we  had  never  seen  ?  " 

Hiram  Brinkerhoff  saw  he  had  made  a  botch 
of  it,  and  had  sense  enough  not  to  persist  in  a 
blunder.  He  retired  to  arrange  for  his  state 
room,  and  in  a  few  minutes  the  boat  was  under 
way. 

That  evening  Doctor  Summerfield  was  able  to 
prepare  his  quarterly  report,  without  giving  up 
his  time  to  the  instruction  or  entertainment  of 
Mrs.  Abgar.  Mr.  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  and  she  sat 
in  the  pilot-house,  while  Mr.  Haydock  and  Miss 
•Sutphen  were  well  wrapped  in  travelling  cloaks 

7 


WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


somewhere  forward.  Were  they  studying  the 
newer  stars  which  began  to  appear  south  of  the 
sky  lines  more  familiar  to  her  ?  Were  they  dis 
cussing  favorite  novels  ?  Was  he  telling  her  old 
stories  of  the  camp,  and  she,  to  her  own  surprise, 
going  over  old  hidden  experiences  of  her  own 
life  which  she  had  hardly  entrusted  even  to 
Effie*?  Ah  me!  I  cannot  tell.  Only  it  was  a 
long  eager  talk,  and  neither  of  them  knew  how 
fast  the  time  passed  by. 

For  Mrs.  Abgar,  she  was  not  sorry,  as  has 
been  said,  to  have  so  intelligent  a  man  to  talk 
with.  The  pilot  said  but  little,  sometimes  had  a 
word  for  a  young  man  by  him,  what  Mark  Twain 
calls  a  cub,  —  who  regarded  him  with  untold 
reverence,  and  seemed  to  be  learning  to  pilot  ; 
and,  when  Effie  or  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  asked  for 
any  information,  the  pilot  gave  it  cordially  and 
intelligently.  A  monarch  he,  and  a  well-bred 
monarch,  who  knew  his  place.  Mrs.  Abgar  was 
not  more  than  woman.  She  was  not,  therefore, 
without  curiosity  to.  learn  more  about  that  Amy 
of  whom  he  had  sung  with  the  exquisite  tenor, 
and  with  whom  he  was  more  in  love  than  ever, 
after  fifteen  years.  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  was  not 
a  pennyweight  more  than  man.  He  was,  there 
fore,  very  curious  to  know  more  of  the  Philip 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  99 

Abgar  who  was  willing  to  let  this  beautiful  wife 
travel  without  escort  so  far  from  home  for  so 
long  a  time.  Why  did  she  never  drop  a  word 
about  him?  Perhaps  Effie  asked  herself  the 
question,  "  Why  did  he  never  drop  a  word  about 
Amy  ?  "  But,  when  she  made  little  plans  of  lead 
ing  up  to  the  unknown  Amy,  somehow  she  had 
not  the  courage  to  carry  them  out.  And  for  him, 
in  his  blundering  man-fashion,  he  took  it  for 
granted  that  something  would  reveal  all  myste 
ries  about  Philip  Abgar,  and  so  he  made  no 
plans  at  all.  So  the  long  evening  sped  by  with 
out  any  personal  talk.  But  it  were  hard  to  tell 
what  other  subject,  except  these  personal  mat 
ters,  was  not  talked  upon.  Art,  criticism,  litera 
ture,  poetry,  actors,  actresses,  artists  of  every 
kind,  music  and  musicians,  the  opera  and  the 
great  singers,  magazines  and  publishers,  the 
authors  he  had  known  and  those  she  wanted  to 
know,  the  books  she  had  read  and  those  of  them 
which  he  knew  and  those  he  did  not  know,  his 
tory,  philosophy,  theology,  religion,  hymns  and 
hymn-writers,  preachers  and  sermons,  politics, 
politicians,  race,  beggars,  social  science,  charity, 
housekeeping,  party-giving,  dancing,  talking, 
friends,  friendship,  love,  marriage,  home,  educa 
tion,  schools,  public  and  private,  governesses, 


100  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

only  children,  large  families  —  what  in  the  world 
does  not  come  in  review  when  a  thoughtful, 
high-trained  young  man/ who  has  lived  much 
alone,  has  travelled  much  abroad  and  has  read 
many  books,  happens  to  meet  with  a  high- 
trained  young  woman,  who  has  read  many 
books,  has  lived  much  alone  and  has  never  gone 
abroad ! 

What  interested  Effie  most,  or  what  she 
thought  interested  her  most,  was  that  he  had 
not  only  seen  many  States,  but  "  many  men." 
She  remembered  the  classical  lines.  He  had 
the  most  modest  way  of  speaking  of  them,  but 
he  seemed  to  have  had  a  gift  of  meeting  just  the 
interesting  people.  Thus,  when  they  talked  of 
style,  she  said,  "  General  Grant's  English  is  re 
markably  good.  Did  you  happen  to  read  his 
report  of  the  very  last  battle  of  the  war  ? " 

"  I  was  in  Washington  the  day  it  was  pub 
lished.  As  it  happened,  I  had  met  him  only  the 
night  before,  and  it  seemed  as  if  he  were  talk- 
ing." 

Or,  when  something  was  Said  of  the  perspec 
tive  of  clouds,  and  she  cited  Ruskin,  he  said, 
"  No  man  looks  less  like  your  idea  of  him.  He 
came  into  the  reading-room  of  the  Workingmen's 
College,  once  when  I  was  sitting  there,  and  fell 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  IOI 

into  talk  with  a  gentleman  by  my  side."  He 
had  seen  Napoleon  at  his  last  review ;  he  had 
heard  Martineau  preach ;  he  was  present  when 
the  Queen  opened  Parliament ;  he  was  on  duty 
at  Norfolk  the  day  Jeff.  Davis  was  imprisoned ; 
he  had  in  his  trunk  the  photograph  likeness 
which  the  President  of  Mexico  had  given  him. 
All  this  came  out  by  the  merest  accidents;  nor 
was  there  the  least  wish  t>n  his  part  to  say,  "  I 
was  here,"  or  *'  I  was  there."  But,  in  three  hours' 
talk,  there  were  just  enough  of  these  accidents  to 
surprise  Effie  with  the  thought  of  how  very  quiet 
her  life  had  been — and  how  much  it  had  been  a 
life  of  books  while  his  had  been  a  life  .of  action. 

On  his  part  there  was  not  surprise  that  she 
knew  so  much,  and  had  thought  so  much,  and 
had  felt  so  much.  For  Effie  Abgar  was  not  the 
first  intelligent  and  charming  woman  whom 
Hiram  Brinkerhoff  had  met  in  this  active  life. 
Perhaps  there  was  no  surprise  at  all.  Perhaps, 
from  the  first,  he  took  her  even  balance,  what 
seemed  to  him  the  perfect  harmony  of  her 
thoughts  and  her  emotions,  as  something  en 
tirely  of  course  in  a  woman  whose  voice  was  so 
sweet,  whose  face  was  so  lovely,  whose  motion 
was  so  graceful,  and  whose  bearing  was  so  digni 
fied  and  yet  so  easy.  When  he  went  to  bed  that 


102  WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES 

night,  and  tried  to  analyze  the  delight  of  this 
long  evening's  talk,  he  did  not  own  to  surprise. 
He  took  it  all  as  a  thing  of  course  that  it  should 
be  delightful.  What  was  unusual,  he  said  to 
himself,  was  that  she  should  be  so  thoroughly 
right,  even  on  subjects  where  you  would  have 
said  she  might  know  nothing,  and  might  never 
have  thought.  That  with  sense  so  acute,  and 
passions  so  warm,  she  should  never  overstep  by 
a  hair's  breadth  ;  and  that  with  judgment  so 
steady,  analysis  so  perfect,  and  conscience  so 
stern,  she  should  never  be  cold,  nor  fall  short  by 
a  hand-breadth.  Her  choice  of  words  was  won 
derful.  Any  fool  could  see  that,  he  said  to  him 
self.  But  how  in  the  world  does  she  know 
things  which  nobody  can  have  told  her;  pass 
correct  judgment  on  the  instant  in  cases  which 
she  has  not  heard  argued  ;  and,  in  short,  without 
any  experience  of  the  world,  more  than  rival  !in 
nicety  of  perception  the  oldest  stager  of  them 
all? 

All  which,  Master  Hiram  Brinkerhoff,  is  to 
ask  why  a  truly  noble  woman  is  wholly  outside 
and  beyond  the  scales,  and  standards,  and  meas 
uring  staves  of  your  human  philosophies  and 
analyses. 

All  four  —  they  slept  in  their  several  state- 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  1.03 

rooms  happily  and  soundly.  It  was  only  Dr.  Sum- 
merfield,  who  sat  up  too  late  over  his  figures,  and 
could  not  make  the  accounts  balance,  who  lay  toss 
ing  in  bed  regretting  his  third  cup  of  green  tea. 

Our  little  story  must  not  linger.  Given  two 
ladies  who  loved  each  other,  and  two  men  who 
loved  each  other,  who  had  so  fortunately  and  so 
skilfully  gained  together  the  luxurious  repose 
and  companionship  of  a  first-class  packet-boat 
on  the  river ;  it  is  not  hard  to  imagine  one  part 
of  what  passed  on  the  happy  spring  day  which 
followed  their  meeting.  For  that  varied  adven 
ture  which  relieves  such  a  voyage  of  all  monot 
ony,  the  story  must  not  pause  to  speak  of  it. 
Only,  after  dinner,  after  the  ladies'  naps,  when 
they  were  all  together  in  the  pilot-house,  a  smoke 
miles  below,  far  down  beyond  the  green,  an 
nounced  an  approaching  vessel.  Before  the 
travellers  could  make  out  her  form,  the  pilot  had 
declared  that  she  was  the  "  River  Queen "  on 
her  way  up  from  New  Orleans. 

A  mile  in  five  minutes  by  one  boat,  and  a  mile 
in  three  minutes  by  the  other,  as  they  approach 
each  other,  bring  the  two  soon  together.  Then 
signals  by  the  bell  intimated  that  the  "  Queen  " 
wished  to  speak  the  "  Boone ;  "  the  engines  of 
each  boat  were  "slowed,"  and  they  drew  near 


104  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

each  other  cautiously.  An  instant  more  showed 
that  no  one  was  to  cross  from  boat  to  boat  as 
had  been  at  first  supposed.  The  first  officer  of 
the  "  Queen  "  showed  himself  on  her  Texas,  and 
in  his  hand  waved  a  paper  parcel.  As  the  boats 
passed  he  flung  it  with  a  skilful  throw;  one  of 
the  hands  of  the  "  Boone  "  caught  it  and  tossed 
it  to  the  waiting  captain  above.  Both  boats 
swept  off  on  their  course,  whistled  courteously  a 
parting  salute,  and,  as  they  say  in  the  French 
chambers,  "  the  incident  was  exhausted." 

Not  quite  exhausted  !  In  a  moment  more  the 
captain  came  up  into  the  •pilot-house,  a  most  un 
usual  courtesy.  He  handed  to  Mrs.  Abgar  a 
letter. 

"  The  '  Queen '  stopped  to  leave  this  for  you, 
Madame.  Mr.  Haydock,  here  is  yesterday's 
1  Picayune. '  "  And  he  gave  him  the  newspaper. 

"  For  me  ! "  cried  Effie,  amazed. 

"  For  you ! "  cried  Hester. 

And  Effie  broke  open  her  letter. 

FROM  MRS.  LE  CLERC  TO  MRS.  E.  ABGAR. 

ARCADIE,  Wednesday  Evening. 

MY  DEAR  MRS.  ABGAR,  —  I  have  only  .to-day 
learned  that  you  are  to  be  in  our  neighborhood  with 
your  friends,  and  I  write,  although  in  haste,  to  beg 
you  not  to  pass  us  on  your  way  down  the  river.  I 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  105 

know  very  well  how  much  of  pleasure  you  have 
before  you.  But  surely,  after  your  long  journey,  you 
will  need  some  rest,  and  I  cannot  but  hope  that  you 
and  your  friends  will  stay  with  us  long  enough  to 
secure  it. 

Really,  although  our  life  is  very  simple,  there  will 
be  a  good  deal  here  that  will  be  new  to  you ;  and,  at 
the  least,  we  can  assure  you  of  a  cordial  Southern 
welcome. 

Do  not  feel  as  if  we  were  strangers.  I  must  know 
many  friends  of  yours  among  my  Northern  friends, 
and  our  friend  Miss  Ferguson,  who  is  as  eager  as  I 
am  that  you  shall  stay  with  us,  feels  sure  that  her 
niece  was  at  Miss  Sutphen's  school. 

Be  sure  that  your  visit  will  be  to  us  a  very  real 
pleasure.     My  husband  will  be  on  the  levee  to  wel 
come  you  as  the  "  Boone  "  comes  in. 
Very  truly  yours. 

ADELIE  LE  CLERC. 

"  That  is  hospitality,"  said  Effie  Abgar,  after 
she  had  twice  read  through  the  letter,  and  made 
sure  that  it  was  indeed  for  her. 

"  How  in  the  world  did  they  know  we  were 
here?"  said  Hester.  "I  know,  Effie.  They 
must  have  been  friends  of  that  nice  Mrs.  Cheyne 
in  Louisville.  She  said  she  had  a  sister  on  the 
coast ;  and  I  did  not  know  what  '  on  the  coast ' 
meant." 

Then  Effie  had  to  speak,  though  she  knew  she 


106  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

crimsoned  as  she  did  so.  "  I  do  not  think  they 
are  Mrs.  Cheyne's  friends.  They  are  Mr.  Brink- 
erhoff  s  friends  ;  and  this  is  the  Arcadie  he  de 
scribed.  Is  it  not  so  ? " 

"  Certainly  it  is,"  said  he,  frankly.  "  There  is 
no  mystery.  You  said  you  could  not  go  without 
an  invitation.  I  cannot  but  hope  you  will  go, 
now  you  see  how  much  pleasure  you  will  give." 

"  It  would  be  very  churlish  to  refuse  so  kind  a 
request,"  said  Effie,  quite  carefully.  "Do  you 
not  think  so,  Hester  ?  " 

And  both  the  gentlemen  stepped  forward  to 
ask  the  pilot  a  question. 

"Effie,"  said  Hester,  in  a  whisper,  "if  you 
think  it  right,  I  should  like  to  go  of  all  things." 

"  Think  it  right  ? "  said  Mrs.  Abgar.  "  It  would 
be  almost  rude  to  refuse." 

So  they  asked  the  gentlemen  at  what  time 
they  should  pass  the  house.  Not  till  after  mid 
night  !  But  if  Mr.  Le  Clerc  were  waiting  for 
them  in  the  cold,  all.  the  more  rude  to  pass  by ! 
The  gentlemen  went  down  and  made  the  ar 
rangement  with  the  captain. 

And  Effie  Abgar  felt,  that  in  her  first  trial  of 
strength  with  this  modest,  thoughtful,  deter 
mined  Hiram  Brinkerhoff,  she  had  come  off 
second  best. 

And  she  was  not  sorry. 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  IO/ 


CHAPTER    X. 

'TVHE  mystery  of  the  invitation  is  easily  ex 
plained.  The  moment  Mr.  Brinkerhoff  had 
found  that  he  had  begun  at  the  wrong  end  with 
Mrs.  Abgar,  and  that  her  New  England  sense 
of  the  proprieties  was  entirely  shocked  by  the 
idea  of  appearing  anywhere  uninvited,  he  had 
walked  to  the  clerk's  office  and  had  written  this 
telegram  to  Mrs.  Le  Clerc : 

"  Mrs.  Abgar  and  party  are  on  '  Boone.'  Would 
you  like  to  see  them  ?  " 

He  had  given  his  negro  attendant  the  despatch, 
had  bidden  him  pull  across  the  river  "  like  fury," 
and  deliver  it  at  Chicot  at  the  telegraph  office.  A 
silver  half  dollar,  in  those  days  an  unusual  sight, 
had  stimulated  the  boy.  Fortunately  for  Hiram, 
he  had  written  from  Cincinnati  a  full  letter  to 
Mrs.  Le  Clerc  describing  the  picture  gallery  and 
the  ladies  they  met  there,  and  had  gone  into  some 
little  detail  about  them  and  their  plans.  Thus 
was  it  that  she  was  well  prepared  to  write  her 


108  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

courteous  invitation,  when,  within  two  hours 
after  his  despatch  was  written,  she  received  it  at 
Arcadie. 

Of  course  the  kind  letter  involved  a  change 
of  plan.  The  ladies  had  to  pack  their  trunks 
Friday  night  instead  of  Saturday  morning.  Fred 
Haydock  hesitated  whether  he  would  or  would 
not  accept  Hiram's  invitation  to  stay  at  Arcadie 
as  his  friend.  But  at  last  the  doubtful  scale  de 
cided  in  favor  of  staying.  He  could  not  bear  to 
bid  Hiram  good-by  that  night  perhaps  for  fifteen 
years  more.  If  they  parted  now,  Heaven  only 
knew  when  they  should  meet  again.  So  the 
friendly  captain  was  informed  that  all  four  would 
leave  the  boat  at  Arcadie. 

The  friendly  captain  was  not  sure  that  he 
should  know  which  plantation  was  Arcadie,  nor 
was  the  friendly  pilot.  As  for  Mr.  Le  Clerc's 
name,  there  were  three  or  four  gentlemen  -of  that 
name  within  twenty  miles  of  each  other  on  the 
"  Coast."  So  now  Effie  and  Hester  began  to  be 
afraid  that  they  should  be  left  at  midnight  at  a 
strange  plantation,  where  the  lady  did  not  even 
know  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  when  she  saw  him. 
The  disgrace  of  such  an  accident  overwhelmed 
Effie,  whose  imagination  was  brilliant  enough  to 
forecast  every  step  of  the  mad  adventure  —  the 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  109 

landing  on  a  muddy  levee ;  the  poking  along  in  the 
dark  among  howling  curs  and  blind  avenues,  till 
they  came  to  the  back-door  of  the  wrong  house  ; 
the  knocking,  timidly,  and  then  wildly,  for  en 
trance  —  the  head  poked  out  of  a  window  —  the 
cross  question  and  the  meek  reply. 

Why  had  she  ever  committed  herself  to  an  ad 
venture  so  crazy!  When  she  had  once  said 
"  No !  "  why  had  she  not  held  to  it  ?  What  a 
goose  to  give  way  —  only  because  a  pretty  note, 
in  a  nice  hand-writing,  on  a  neat  sheet  of  note- 
paper,  had  been  thrown  on  board  the-  boat !  Why 
Had  she  not  held  to  the  regular  etiquettes  to 
which  she  was  born  ! 

But  when-  some  broken  words  of  hers  expressed 
such  doubts,  the  wondering  pilot  turned  his 
broadest  face  and  kindliest  smile  on  her.  He 
bade  her  lose  all  fear.  "  We  shall  find  'em  some 
how,"  he  said ;  but  how  he  was  to  find  them,  in 
the  darkness  of  midnight,  with  the  river  mist 
hanging  over  land  and  water,  the  pilot  did  not 
explain. 

The  news  of  so  large  a  departure  was,  in  its 
way,  quite  a  shock  to  the  little  party  in  the 
ladies'  cabin.  But  by  ten  all  the  other  passengers 
had  "  told  good  by,"  as  the  Southern  phrase  has 
it ;  only  Dr.  Summerfield  sat  up  a  little  longer. 


1 10  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

In  half  an  hour  more,  however,  that  worthy  man 
parted  from  them,  and  then,  hour  after  hour,  the 
vigils  continued  of  the  four.  The  law  of  Natural 
Selection,  which  another  generation  called  the 
law  of  "  Elective  Affinities,"  left  Hester  talking 
with  Frederic  and  Effie  with  Hiram. 

Twelve  o'clock,  and  they  talked. 

One  o'clock,  and  they  talked. 

Quarter  to  two,  and  a  lad  came  aft  to  say, 
"  The  landing  is  in  sight,  ladies.  You  need  not 
hurry.  You  have  fifteen  minutes  before  we  are 
there." 

"  Then  how  in  the  world  can  the  landing  be  in 
sight  ? "  asked  the  impetuous  Hester.  And  they 
all  walked  forward  to  see. 

Far,  far  away  as  the  boat  rushed  on  was  a  speck 
of  light.  This  the  ladies  were  told  was  the  signal 
on  shore  which  Mr.  Le  Clerc  had  lighted  to  direct 
the  pilot. 

"  How  like  Robinson  Crusoe !  I  can  see  him  in 
the  picture,  piling  on  the  logs  !  Only  no  vessel 
came ! " 

There  was  a  fascination  for  a  minute  or  two  in 
watching  the  speck.  Then  the  girls  went  back 
for  their  traps  ;  and,  with  shawl-straps,  umbrellas 
and  the  rest,  stood  waiting.  The  boat  rushed 
toward  its  goal  faster  than  ever,  it  seemed.  A 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  1 1 1 

few  minutes  more  and  they  could  see  a  white 
shed  and  dark  figures  moving  to  and  fro.  Nearer 
and  nearer !  There  is  no  place  along  that  steep 
shore  where  a  boat  cannot  run  up  and  land  her 
passengers.  Nearer  and  nearer  !  A  gentleman 
with  a  lad  behind  him  is  visible,  and  three  or  four 
larger  Negroes.  Nearer  and  nearer !  The  great 
landing-plank  of  the  larboard  side  swung  round 
and  hovered  above  the  shore.  "Ting!  ting!" 
The  pilot  stopped  the  engines.  Flash  !  from  the 
depths  appeared  two  great  pine-knot  torches, 
which,  with  the  pine  fire  on  shore,  make  the 
whole  as  light  as  day. 

"All  ready,  madam !" 

"  Good-by  !     Good-by,  captain  !  " 

And  the  ladies  ran  on  shore  led  by  the  gentle 
men,  fast  followed  by  porters  with  trunks.  An 
instant,  and  all  are  landed,  the  porters  are  back 
again,  "  ting !  ting !  "  and  the  palace  sweeps  off, 
while  the  ladies  and  their  friends  are  receiving 
the  welcome  of  their  new  home. 

"The  boys  will  see  to  the  trunks.  It  is  so 
short  a  walk  that  I  have  no  carriage  here.  Will 
Mrs.  Abgar  take  my  arm  ?  —  or  which  is  Mrs. 
Abgar  ? " 

So  cordial,  so  thoughtful  in  every  act  were  the 
father  and  son,  that  Effie's  terrors  were  gone  in  a 


112  WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES 

moment.  In  a  merry  party  they  walked  through 
the  gloom  which  settled  on  them  as  they  left  the 
pine  fire.  It  did  seem  mysterious  enough.  Great 
trees  concealed  the  stars  from  them,  and  how  and 
why  Mr.  Le  Clerc  turned  when  he  did,  or  bade 
her  avoid  this  step  or  that,  or  found  a  gate  to 
open,  Effie  did  not  know.  But  all  wondering  was 
short.  In  a  couple  of  minutes  they  were  on  the 
steps  of  an  immense  veranda.  The  open  door 
of  a  hall  which  was  a  hall,  cheerfully  lighted, 
invited  their  entrance.  A  lady  stood  in  the  door 
way,  and  stepped  cheerfully  forward  to  say,  — 

"  Welcome  to  Arcadie  !  " 

"I  am* ashamed  to  appear  at  such  an  hour," 
said  Effie,  "  and  more  ashamed  now  that  you 
have  been  sitting  up  for  us." 

"  My  dear  friend,  it  is  nothing.  Mrs.  Le  Clerc 
was  sorry  not  to  do  so,  but  I  would  not  let  her. 
She  is  not  quite  well.  And  you  must  be  so  tired  ! " 

The  welcome,  the  simplicity  and  ease,  and  the 
beauty  and  completeness  of  every  arrangement, 
made  the  ladies  feel  more  at  home  than  they 
could  have  believed  possible.  Glad  to  go  to  bed, 
of  course,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  But,  as 
they  pulled  aside  their  mosquito  nets,  they  could 
not  but  talk  a  little  about  the  charm  which 
seemed  to  have  surrounded  them  from  the 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  113 

moment  the  magic  light  had  appeared  in  the 
distance.  Palace  after  palace  welcomes  them  on 
their  travels.  But  in  this  palace  one  is  so  thor 
oughly  at  home ! 

And  how  deliciously  sleep  comes  on  when  one 
does  not  hear  the  distant  "  thud,  thud "  of  the 
engine,  and  when  one's  body  from  head  to  foot 
does  not  vibrate  with  the  jar  of  the  gigantic 
wheels ! 

The  thoughtful  Hiram  had  telegraphed  to  New 
Orleans  for  the  letters  which  awaited  the  ladies 
there,  and,  as  they  sat  at  a  late  breakfast,  these 
letters  were  brought  in.  Perhaps  this  seemed 
even  more  like  magic  to  Effie  and  Hester  than 
the  roses  and  jasmines  which  were  in  fresh  heaps 
around  them.  It  did  show  how  long  was  Mr. 
BrinkerhofFs  arm,  and  how  thoughtful  his  kind 
ness.  And  Effie  looked  her  gratitude  to  him  when 
she  understood  at  last  that  the  letters  did  not  rain 
down  by  miracle.  Perhaps  the  one  only  thing  in 
life  that  she  had  longed  for,  as  she  dressed  her 
self,  was  that  she  might  know  that  all  at  home 
were  well. 

While  the  Northern  ladies  sat  reading  their 
letters,  the  Southern  ladies,  one  of  whom  was 
Northern  too,  fell  upon  Mr.  Brinkerhoff  in  talk  : 

"  And  how  is  dear  Mrs.  Brinkerhoff  ?  " 
8 


114  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

"  Thank  you.  She  was  very  well  when  I  left 
her.  I  am  disappointed  that  there  is  no  letter 
from  her." 

"  Is  she  as  young  and  as  lovely  as  ever  ? " 

"  I  am  sure  I  think  so,"  said  Hiram,  blushing 
scarlet.  "  She  is  as  busy  as  ever  with  her  schools 
and  her  sewing,  and  her  what  not.  I  tell  her  she 
tries  to  run  half  the  world." 

"  And  why  did  you  not  bring  her  with  you  ?  " 
and  so  on. 

Both  Hester  Sutphen  and  Effie  Abgar  after 
wards  acknowledged  to  each  other,  guiltily,  that 
they  drank  in  every  word  while  they  pretended 
to  be  reading  letters  of  which  just  then  they  did 
not  see  one  line ! 

But  if  they  are  ever  to  go  to  Texas  the  story 
must  not  loiter  even  in  Arcadie.  All  the  same 
they  loitered  there.  The  gentlemen  had  to  tear 
themselves  away  after  the  second  day.  Uncle 
Sam's  business  and  the  business  of  Jeffrey,  Petrie 
&  Jeffrey  admitted  no  more  delay.  Even  Mr.  Le 
Clerc's  ingenuity  could  not  pretend  that  the 
United  States  government  needed  Mr.  Haydock 
at  Arcadie  or  that  Mr.  Brinkerhoff  would  find 
large  firms  of  retailers  of  drugs  at  the  little  vil 
lage  at  the  Post-office. 

The    ladies   stayed  longer.      "Why  do  you 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  11$ 

not  spend  the  summer  ? "  said  Mrs.  Le  Clerc, 
very  sweetly  and  frankly.  "You  say  you  ran 
away  from  that  horrible  snow  and  ice,  only  to  be 
in  a  pleasant  home.  Shall  you  find  any  thing 
pleasanter  than  this  in  that  murderous  Texas  ? " 
And  indeed  Hester  wondered  at  her  own  firmness 
that  she  said  "  No."  For,  as  to  Erne,  she  had  not 
been  firm.  She  had  confessed  that  the  plan  of 
the  party  was  none  of  hers.  Arcadie  seemed  so 
lovely  to  her  that  she  would  have  eaten  lotos 
there  as  long  as  there  was  lotos  to  eat.  And  all 
the  plan-making  was  thrown  back  upon  poor 
Hester. 

Before  the  gentlemen  left,  poor  Fred  Haydock 
was  nearly  beside  himself,  because  he  neither 
dared  ask  Hester's  leave  to  stay  for  ever  where 
she  stayed,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  because  he 
dared  not  go  away  without  asking.  So  they 
came  to  the  last  afternoon,  which  was  given  to  a 
party  on  the  canal.  The  canal  leads  back  from 
the  river  to  a  lake  or  bayou ;  how  far  back  the 
explorers  did  not  find.  Nor  did  they  care  indeed. 
It  was  always  afternoon  to  them,  and  whatever 
they  saw  was  May  ! 

In  a  great  cart  drawn  by  three  mules  abreast 
were  many  chairs,  in  which  the  ladies  sat  and 
rode,  escorted  by  the  gentlemen  on  horseback. 


Il6  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

Then  they  arrived  at  a  narrow  canal,  in  which 
were  a  large  and  a  small  flat-boat.  Haydock  and 
Fred  Le  Clerc,  who  had  made  paddles  for  the 
occasion,  went  in  advance  in  the  smaller  boat. 
The  oldsters,  with  the  little  girl  and  her  nurse, 
went  in  the  large  boat,  towed  by  a  negro  man 
named  Antoine,  on  shore. 

The  canal  was  only  wide  enough  for  the  boat. 
On  both  sides  were  the  most  interesting  and 
wonderful  trees  and  shrubs  and  vines,  perfectly 
green.  Indeed  it  looked,  as  Mrs.  Abgar  said, 
like  the  pictures  of  Paradise,  where  they  always 
mix  up  pines  and  palms  and  land  and  water. 
They  saw  no  bears  nor  deer,  though  there  are 
plenty  there.  But  they  did  see,  oh !  so  many 
beautiful  birds  !  So  they  sailed  for  perhaps  three 
miles  more,  with  new  wonders  all  the  time.  Then 
they  came  where  a  large  cypress-tree  had  been 
felled  across  the  canal !  What  was  it  to  them  ? 
To  sit  still  or  to  sail  —  it  was  all  one!  The 
pioneers  rejoined  them,  and  Effie  made  a  nice, 
characteristic  sketch,  and  then  the  learned  said 
that  it  would  not  .be  afternoon  any  longer,  and 
that  they  must  turn  their  faces  home. 

But  when  they  came  back  to  the  cart,  lo !  a 
chance  for  an  adventure !  Mr.  Le  Clerc's  horse 
had  broken  his  bridle  and  run  away.  Now  the 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


thoughtful  Mrs.  Le  Clerc  had  arranged  that  Miss 
Sutphen  should  ride  him  home,  because  she  had 
guessed   that   before  Mr.   Haydock  left,  he  and 
Miss  Hester  would  be  well  left  together  for  an 
hour  without   listeners.     Kind  Mrs.  Le  Clerc  ! 
What  perfect  hospitality  !   And  now  ?     Why  had 
this  beast  broken  '  bridle  ?     Fred  Haydock,  who 
generally  believed  in  his  star,  and  not  without 
reason,  could  have  groaned  aloud  —  would  have 
done  so  but  that  the  manners  of  civilized  society 
forbid.     Did  Hester  care  ?     Quien  sabef    Wild 
horses  would   not   have   made   her  tell.     With 
perfect   willingness    she    seemed   to   acquiesce. 
Fred   Le  Clerc  and  Hiram  both  offered  their 
horses,  but  not  even  Mrs.   Le  Clerc  dared  say 
that   they  could    be  trusted  with  an  unskilful 
rider  and  the  flutter  of  that  rider's  dress.     Hes 
ter  stepped  up  into  the  cart  by  the  ready  chair, 
begged  Mrs.  Le  Clerc  not  to  think  of  her  nor  be 
worried,  assured  Mr.  Le  Clerc  that  there  was 
room  for  him  on  her  seat,  and  so  they  took  up 
their  way,  when,  as  the  twilight  began  to  gloam, 
a  hurrah,  a  rapid  movement,  and  the  horse  reap 
peared.     He  had  run  home,  had  been  captured 
by  a  negro  boy,  and  had  been  brought  back  in 
triumph.     So  he  had  six  miles  extra  that  day  for 
his  pains.     The  whole  party  stopped  again.    The 


Il8  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

side-saddle  was  exchanged  for  the  Mexican  sad 
dle  which  Mr.  Le  Clerc  had  ridden.  Fred  Le 
Clerc  and  Hiram,  after  seeing  that  they  were 
not  needed,  dashed  forward  to  announce  at  home 
that  there  was  no  accident.  Frederic  Haydock 
and  Hester  Sutphen  followed  more  decorously, 
and  the  slow  cart,  with  its  trijuge  team,  as  Mr. 
Le  Clerc  called  it,  brought  up  the  steady  rear. 

Hester  tried  her  stirrup,  tried  her  beast  on  dif 
ferent  paces,  tried  a  canter  over  a  deserted  field, 
tried  a  sober  walk.  She  was  indeed  conscious 
that,  if  she  and  Mr.  Haydock  rode  quietly  side  by 
side,  a  crisis  was  not  far  away. 

And  so  it  proved  ! 

"  Miss  Hester,  if  that  horse  had  not  come  back 
I  should  have  died  !  " 

"  Then  we  are  very  glad  the  horse  came  back," 
said  Hester.  "  But  why  were  you  responsible  ? " 

"  Oh,  not  that !  I  was  not  responsible.  But 
all  day  long  —  oh,  Miss  Hester,  do  not  laugh  at 
me  —  all  day  long  I  have  counted  so  on  this  half 
hour  in  which  to  tell  you  what  you  know  so 
well." 

And  he  was  silent,  and  she  knew  she  did 
know.  But  she  said  nothing. 

"  If  it  seems  madness  to  you,  let  it  seem  so. 
If  it  seems  foolish,  let  it  seem  so.  But  I  cannot 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  119 

believe  that  I  had  never  seen  you  before  that  day 
at  Jersey  City,  and  if  you  say  I  never  must  see 
you  again  —  do  not  laugh  now,  Miss  Hester  — 
if  you  say  that,  I  shall  die.  You  have  taught  me 
a  great  deal  in  this  fortnight.  But  you  cannot 
teach  me  how  to  live  without  you." 

Then  Hester  knew  she  must  speak.  The  man 
had  behaved  manfully.  He  had  his  rights  too. 
And  Hester  tried  one  sentence  which  would  not 
come,  and  she  tried  another  ;  and  then  she  looked 
frankly  up  to  him  —  only  he  could  not  see  her 
in  the  darkness  —  and  she  said,  in  just  her 
freshest,  sweetest  way, 

"  And  why  should  I  try  to  ?  " 
Then  how  he  thanked  her  and  blessed  her ! 
Then  how  he  promised  her  to  be  good  to  her  and 
true  to  her  and  guard  her  as  never  woman  was 
guarded  !  Then  how  he  told  her  about  his  par 
adise  at  San  Antoine  ;  or,  if  she  liked  it  better, 
he  could  and  would  resign  and  go  back  to  New 
Hampshire  with  her.  Then  how  they  fell  back 
upon  the  Palace  life ;  and  she  asked  him  if  he 
knew  that  they  thought  he- was  a  girl  and  called 
him  Honora  MacPherson.  And  then  the  rattle 
of  the  mules  behind  was  heard,  and  they  had  to 
whip  up  and  keep  out  of  the  way  with  a  pace  too 
fast  for  talking.  And  then  they  came  upon  a 


120  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

good  place  to  walk  —  ah  me  !  all  places  were 
good  to  walk.  Could  they  be  all  night  in  going 
home,  it  would  be  none  too  long.  But  the  lights 
of  the  little  homestead  village  would  appear,  and 
then  the  lights  of  Arcadie. 

And  when  they  came  to  the  house  the  whole 
family  must  rush  to  the  piazza  to  meet  them,  and 
one  would  hold  the  horse,  and  another  would 
take  Hester's  whip,  and  Fred  could  only  press 
her  hand  hard  as  she  sprang  to  her  feet.  He 
could  not  clasp  her  round  her  waist,  as  he  would 
have  done  had  this  been  in  the  "  Pirate's  Com 
panions  "  or  the  "  Smugglers'  Prize,"  and  imprint 
a  thousand  kisses  on  her. 

For,  alas  !  the  etiquette  of  modern  society  did 
not  permit  him. 

But  fortune  favors  lovers,  favors  the  brave, 
favors  the  good,  and  favors  the  young !  And 
Hester  and  Fred  were  lovers,  were  brave,  were 
good,  and  were  young !  Fortune  was  so  kind 
that,  after  every  bag  was  packed,  after  tea  was 
finished,  after  all  had  been  said  which  must  be 
said,  except  "  Good-bye,"  the  "  George  Christy  " 
did  not  come.  Now  it  was  in  the  "George 
Christy  "  that  the  gentlemen  were  to  go.  And 
so  they  sat  in  the  veranda  or  gallery,  under  the 
great  colonnade,  and  waited  for  her,  hour  after 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


121 


hour.  And  lovely  Mrs.  Le  Clerc,  with  all  her  skill 
in  letting  people  alone,  took  care  that  neither 
Bob  nor  Fanchon  should  come  near  Mr.  Haydock 
for  stories,  nor  Miss  Sutphen  for  paper  dolls. 
Two  hours  —  three  —  of  solid  comfort  before  the 
"  Christy  "  came  ! 

Did  M.  Le  Clerc  know  or  did  he  not  know, 
did  he  guess,  or  did  he  not  guess,  —  when  he 
asked  Fred  to  sing  "  Maudit  Printemps,"  by  way 
of  illustrating  something  he  was  telling  Mrs. 
Abgar  ? 

"  Maudit !  "  said  she  :  "  that  is  hard  on  poor 
Spring." 

"Oh!"  replied  he,  laughing,  "that  is  only 
French  fashion.  It  does  not  mean  more  than 
your  Mr.  Artemas  Ward  means  by  '  cussedness/ 
Fred  translates  it  'bothersome/  when  he  sings 
it  in  English." 

So  Fred  sang,  — 

MAUDIT   PRINTEMPS. 


T^ZWt 


Je    la      voy  -  ais      de      ma        fe  -  ne  -  -  tre     A    la 


ne   tout  cet    hi  -  ver :  Nous  nous  ai-nrions  sans  nous  con-nai-tre  ; 


122 


WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


Nos  bai-sers     se   croi  -  saient  dans  1'air.    En  -  tre   ces     til  -  leuls 


sans  feuil  -  la  -  ge,    Nous  re  -  gar  -  der  com  -blait  nos     jours. 


Aux  arbres       tu      rends    leur    om  -  bra  -  -  ge,    Maudit    prin  - 


JpglPcplr 


temps,  re-vien - dras-tu  tou-jours?    Aux  arbres     tu    rends  leur  om- 


•  A 


V: 


-v- 


bra  -  -  ge,      Maudit  prin-temps,  re-vien  -  dras  -  tu    tou  -  jours  ? 

BOTHERSOME   SPRING. 

I  saw  her  sitting  by  her  door, 

Half-hidden  yonder  mid  the  trees, 

And  though  we  never  met  before 

Our  kisses  crossed  with  every  breeze. 

Through  naked  boughs  the  winter  through, 
From  door  to  door  the  sight  was  plain, 
But  now  the  leaves  shut  off  the  view  : 
Oh  Spring,  why  need  you  come  again  ! 

But  now  the  leaves  shut  off  the  view, 

Oh  Spring,  why  need  you  come  again ' 

But  to  Fred  Haydock  something  "else  came  as 
"  bothersome  "  as  spring.     Even  paradise  cannot 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  123 

last  for  ever.  At  last  a  faint  whistle  up  the  river. 
The  groups  break  up,  and  watch,  and  listen.  A 
louder  whistle  and  a  louder.  The  plash  of  paddle- 
wheels. 

"We  had  better  walk  to  the  landing  ! " 

They  all-walked  together  ;  and  the  "  Christy  " 
came. 

"  Good-bye ! " 

"Good-bye!" 


124  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


CHAPTER   XL 

"  JT>  UT  where  is  the  Pullman  all  this  time  ? " 
-*-^  asks  the  indignant  reader.  "  What  do  I 
care,"  he  growls,  "  as  to  the  loves  or  hates  of  Mr. 
Frederic  Haydock  and  Miss  Hester  Sutphen  ? 
It  was  '  the  adventures  of  a  Pullman '  which  were 
promised  to  me.  And  now,  all  that  I  am  told  is 
the  fortunes  of  a  palace  afloat  and  the  hospitality 
of  a  palace  not  on  wheels." 

Reader,  be  still,  and  persevere. 
For  the  week  at  Arcadie  could  not  last  for  ever. 
And  though  they  added  six  days  more  to  it, 
those  could  not  last  for  ever.  If  all  had  been  stu 
pid  and  dull,  Hester  would  have  thought  it  lasted 
for  ever.  But  it  was  all  light  with  kindness  and 
love  and  new  joy  of  spring,  and  new  surprises  of 
life  unheard  of  by  these  Northern  birds  of  pas 
sage.  For  Hester  there  was  now  a  note  from 
Fred,  now  a  letter,  now  a  telegram.  Now  a  boat 
would  run  up  to  the  levee,  and  a  black  man 
would  run  down  to  the  landing-place,  and  find 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  12$ 

there  a  little  parcel  for  "  Miss  Sutphen,  at  Mr. 
George  Le  Clerc's  Arcadie"  and  Hester  would 
carry  it  to  her  room  and  return  with  a  blush, 
with  the  very  volume  of  Hamerton  which  she 
had  spoken  of  to  Miss  Ferguson,  and  which  they 
had  both  forgotten,  but  which  the  faithful  Fred 
eric  had  not  forgotten.  Ah,  me !  how  long  are 
men's  arms,  and  how  strong,  when  they  are 
enough  in  love. 

Such  weeks  never  last  for  ever ! 

So,  when  ended,  the  girls  were  kindly  and  ten 
derly  put  on  the  "St.  Mary,"— a  funny  little 
stern-wheel  boat,  which  was  to  go  up  the  Red 
River.  And  their  lonely  life  began  again  —  but 
with  such  a  chance  to  write  long  letters  as  per 
haps  the  world  gives  nowhere  else  as  it  twirls 
round. 

There  could  hardly  be  a  greater  contrast  in 
life  than  the  change  from  the  airy  comfort  of  the 
large  bed-rooms  in  the  luxury  of  Arcadie  to  these 
little  six-by-six  state-rooms  of  the  "  St  Mary," 
the  snuffy  air  and  the  cotton  quilts.  "  Why  they 
were  ever  called  state-rooms,"  said  Effie,  "is 
something  I  never  could  find  out,  for  there  is 
less  state  about  them  and  more  Spartan  simpli 
city  than  in  any  other  place  I  go  into."  Still, 
when  she  wrote  home,  after  a  day's  experience 


126  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

of  the  little  boat,  she  said,  "  Happy  is  the  coun 
try  where  the  humblest  emigrant  going  to  the 
frontier  has  as  good  conveyance  as  we  have. 
What  you  call  the  Law  of  Selection  provides 
what  everybody  wants,  even  if  it  provide  but 
little  more.  If  there  are  few  luxuries,  there  is 
still  a  good  bed,  a  good  table,  and  no  end  of  kind 
ness  from  these  black  men  and  black  women 
around  us." 

For  one  generation,  at  least,  no  man  need 
teach  the  black  man  or  the  black  woman  at  the 
South,  to  be  kind  to  the  Northern  traveller,  — 
be  that  traveller  whom  he  may ! 

The  first  day  was  Sunday.  Yes,  a  quiet 
preacherless  Sunday.  The  boat  toiled  on,  as  if 
indeed  steam-engines  were  unknown  to  Moses, 
and  not  included  in  the  comforts  of  the  ten  com 
mandments.  Yet  the  girls  had  their  Bibles, — 
and  Owen  Feltham,  and  the  dear  old  thumb- 
worn  Fenelon,  —  and  Vaughan's  "  Hours  with 
the  Mystics,"  —  and  Hester  had  a  lovely  talk  with 
a  nice  Norwegian  woman  who  could  not  speak  a 
word  of  English,  more  than  Hester  could  speak 
a  word  of  Norwegian.  But  the  fair-haired  stran 
ger  produced  her  Norwegian  Testament,  and 
Hester  had  great  joy  in  spelling  out  the  bless 
ings  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  Matthew,  and  then 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  I2/ 

she  showed  her  the  same  chapter  in  her  book,  in 
English. 

And  there  was  a  piano  on  the  boat,  —  where 
should  one  go  as  civilization  advances  unless  he 
had  a  piano  with  him  !  —  Why,  you  know  it  was 
behind  the  piano  in  the  house  in  Kansas  the 
other  day  that  the  panther  sheltered  himself  till 
Mrs.  Sloane  could  get  her  husband's  breech 
loader,  and  shoot  him !  and  then,  I  suppose, 
while  she  was  waiting  for  the  men  to  come  home 
from  dinner,  and  drag  out  the  ugly  brute,  she  sat 
down  and  opened  the  piano  and  played  an  adagiQ 
by  Schubert !  So  we  live,  as  we  face  westward,  — 
seventeen  miles  a  year,  as  De  Tocqueville  says  ! 

And  Hester  was  just  sitting  at  the  piano  after 
tea,  and  was  wishing  she  had  brought  the  Ply 
mouth  Collection  with  her,  —  and  was  trying  one 
and  another  bit  of  old  psalmody,  —  when  the 
familiar  signal  for  stopping  the  boat  was  heard, 
and  it  was  announced  that  they  had  come  to 
Bayou  Sara. 

Bayou  Sara  !  How  they  had  heard  of  Bayou 
Sara  in  old  war  days !  Each  of  them  had  friends 
in  the  army  who  were  at  Bayou  Sara.  Hester's 
own  brother  was  at  Bayou  Sara.  But  who  Sara 
was  or  what  a  Bayou  was,  neither  of  them  knew 
the  more  for  this.  No,  Effie  Abgar  did  not 


128  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

know,  although  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  had  cam 
paigned  at  and  around  Bayou  Sara,  and  had  told 
her  so.  The  little  bevy  of  ladies  who  had  assem 
bled  around  the  piano  to  listen  to  Effie's  playing, 
.all  adjourned  to  the  guards,  to  see  what  might  be 
the  adventures  of  a  stopping  a  little  longer  than 
usual.  And  then  for  a  little  they  all  walked  at 
Bayou  Sara. 

In  old  prosperous  times,  which  means  before 
the  war,  the  landing  was  the  capital  of  a  large 
and  strong  planting  interest.  It  is  now  but  a 
fprsaken  landing-place.  As  they  walked,  a  won 
derful  sunset  was  going  on ;  but  they  did  not 
dare  to  linger  long  on  shore.  As  the  boat  swung 
off  again  the  stern  wheel  struck  a  floating  log ; 
and  two  of  the  arms,  with  the  floats  upon  them, 
broke  off,  and  floated  down  the  river.  This  is  to 
say  that  one  sixteenth  of  the  paddling  power  was 
gone,  and  the  whole  wheel  weakened.  While  our 
friends  were  wondering  whether  this  involved 
practically  the  end  of  their  Red  River  voyage, 
the  captain  said  to  the  pilot,  "We  shall  put  in 
new  side-arms."  Some  one  asked  how  long  it 
would  take  to  make  the  repairs.  The  Captain 
said,  "  Oh  !  about  fifteen  minutes." 

In  point  of  fact  the  boat's  carpenter  and  his 
men  went  steadily  to  work.  It  was  more  than 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  1 29 

fifteen  minutes,  it  was  an  hour,  before  the  boat 
started  again.  Then  the  wheel  was  as  good  as 
new.  Never  was  seen  a  more  prompt  and  effi 
cient  piece  of  practical  engineering.  Allowing 
for  the  time  in  which  they  removed  the  wreck, 
they  would  have  built  a  new  wheel  in  four  or  five 
hours. 

After  such  an  adventure  as  this,  the  travellers 
looked  with  more  respect  on  this  quiet  captain, 
whose  place  on  the  boat  they  would  not  so  well 
have  understood,  but  for  some  such  exhibition  of 
his  power.  Their  friend,  the  pilot,  was  supreme 
in  his  department,  and  the  ladies  saw  most  of 
him.  The  mate,  said  to  be  the  most  amiable  of 
men  personally,  appeared  at  every  landing-place 
as  the  most  vehement,  not  to  say  the  most  pro 
fane,  director  of  the  jolly  crew  of  negroes  who 
took  the  changing  cargo  on  or  off.  The  clerk 
evidently  had  his  set  of  duties,  which  were  not 
trifles.  But  if  the  girls  had  not  seen  the  captain 
come  to  the  front  in  some  such  trial  as  this  of 
the  demolished  wheel,  they  would  not  have 
known  what  a  captain  was  for. 

A  weirdly  picturesque  sight  was  the  repair  of 

the  broken  wheel.     The  sunset  light  failed  fast. 

Instantly,  almost  without  orders,  one  and  another 

black  man  appeared  with  the  long-handled  iron 

9 


130  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

baskets,  filled  with  blazing  "light-wood"  and 
"pine-knots"  which  make  the  torches  for  all 
night  work  at  the  landings.  The  carpenters  hung 
out  over  the  water,  working  their  wonders  by 
the  lurid  flashes  of  these  beacons.  What  amazed 
Effie  and  Hester  was,  that  while  everybody  was 
in  haste,  nobody  was  in  a  hurry.  Nobody  scolded 
and  nobody  swore.  Nobody  half-did  any  thing. 
When  the  wheel  was  finished,  it  was  finished. 
It  was  as  good  a  wheel  as  if  it  had  been  made 
new  at  a  ship-yard.  All  this  gave  them  far  more 
confidence  in  their  bonny  bark  and  her  crew. 

The  ladies  formed  the  habit  of  dressing  long 
enough  before  breakfast  to  take  a  little  walk  on 
the  deck  above  the  saloon,  by  way  of  appetite. 
The  morning  haze,  over  the  fresh  green  of  the 
banks,  gave  a  dreamy  interest  to  the  whole 
scene.  They  never  tired  of  such  mild  adventure 
as  a  sharp  turn  in  the  river,  coming  back,  per 
haps  after  three  or  four  miles,  to  the  other  side 
of  some  narrow  neck,  where  was  a  cabin  or  a 
peculiar  tree  which  they  had  seen  long  before, 
when  they  passed  it  on  the  other  side.  One 
morning,  as  they  joined  the  pilot  in  his  lookout, 
they  mounted  to  the  high  throne  reserved  for 
visitors,  who  may  look  through  the  glass  sides  of 
the  house,  in  every  direction. 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  131 

"And  how  far  have  we  come  in  the  night?" 
asked  Effie.  The  pilot  told  her ;  and,  with  the 
science  she  had  already  acquired,  she  expressed 
her  surprise  that  the  run  had  been  so  short. 

"The  captain  told  me  he  should  be  opposite 
Nachitoches  before  this  time." 

"  But  the  captain  did  not  tell  you,  for  he  did 
not  know,  of  that  snag  which  we  were  to  run 
into."  This  was  the  good-natured  answer  of  the 
good-natured  pilot.  And  in  an  instant  he  was 
sorry  for  it. 

"  Snag !  snag !  "  screamed  Hester  and  Effie. 
Neither  had  confessed  to  the  other,  or  to  any 
living  being  else,  the  terrors  which  the  idea  of 
"snags,"  whatever  snags  might  be,  had  inspired. 

Then  the  pilot  expressed  his  surprise.  He 
would  not  have  told  them,  but  he  supposed  every 
body  on  the  boat  knew  of  it.  It  was  between 
twelve  and  one  that  the  boat  had  struck  on  a 
snag  which  was  just  near  enough  the  water's 
edge  to  strike,  not  projecting  far,  the  pilot 
thought,  so  it  was  not  easily  seen. 

"  Seen  !  "  screamed  Effie,  "  how  should  any 
thing  be  seen  between  twelve  o'clock  and  one  in 
the  night,  with  such  a  mist  as  this  on  the  river." 

"  Anyway,"  said  the  good-natured  pilot, 
"  William  did  not  see  it.  I  was  below,"  he  added 


132  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

modestly.  "Fortunately  it  did  not  strike  the 
hull,  only  the  after-guard.  Look  over  the  rail  when 
you  go  down  to  breakfast,  and  you  will  see  where 
it  ripped  the  guard  away.  We  dropped  three 
hogsheads  of  sugar  into  the  river.  That  will 
sweeten  their  coffee  for  them." 

"Three  of  those  great  hogsheads  into  that 
muddy  river !  What  a  shame  ! "  This  was  Hes 
ter's  ejaculation. 

But  Effie,  who  had  been  peering  over,  said 
"  How  far  aft  was  it  ? "  And  when  the  pilot  told 
her,  the  ladies  both  understood  that  the  snag  had 
poked  its  head  up,  and  the  sugar  had  fallen 
through,  just  below  the  two  state-rooms  in  which 
they  had  themselves  been  sleeping.  Only  they 
were  such  good  sailors  now  that  they  had  not 
been  wakened  —  not  much  wakened.  Yes.  They 
had  waked  up.  And  they  had  heard  voices. 
But  each  of  them  had  thought  it  was  a  landing. 
And  they  confessed,  each  to  each,  that  the  com 
fort  of  feeling  no  throb  of  the  engine,'  and  of 
sleeping  as  one  sleeps  at  home,  had  overcome  all 
curiosity. 

And  so  they  had  slept,  one  thin  floor  from 
death  !      They   both   went   down   to   breakfast,  • 
solemnized,  but  not  sad  or  unhappy. 

The  people  who  live  on  those  narrow  strips  of 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  133 

solid  land  between  the  upper  Red  River  and  the 
swamps  behind  it,  above  Nachitoches  and  below 
Shreveport,  call  it  "the  garden  of  the  world." 
A  great  many  other  people  call  a  great  many 
other  places  the  garden  of  the  world.  Let  that 
be  as  it  may,  it  is  no  wonder  these  people  call 
this  so.  The  strip  is  not  wide.  Sometimes  it  is 
a  few  hundred  yards,  sometimes  it  is  a  few  miles, 
between  the  river  and  the  swamps.  But,  narrow 
or  wide,  it  is  as  fertile  as  so  much  land  can  be. 
Hardly  an  inch  is  wasted  in  fences.  The  long 
plantations  were  carefully  cultivated  to  the  very 
edge.  And  the  girls  unlearned  their  prejudices 
as  to  Southern  laziness  as  they  saw  the  work 
here.  Effie  asked  a  young  gentleman  whom  they 
took  from  one  plantation  to  another,  how  long 
the  cotton  planting  season  was.  "Thirteen 
months  in  the  year,"  said  he  laughing.  "That 
is  our  joke  about  it.  You  see  the  fresh  green 
yonder  of  this  year's  crop.  These  men  have  not 
been  lazy,  but  you  see  the  mule  is  trotting  round 
in  the  gin-house  yon  ;  the  last  year's  crop  is  not 
yet  wholly  made.  This  is  riot  because  they  have 
been  slack.  To  leave  a  part  of  that  work  till  now 
may  be  in  this  case  good  farming." 

Effie  and  Hester  both  remembered  the  "Raft" 
in  their  old  geography  days.     It  was  over  this 


134          WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

Raft  that  poor  Will  Harrod  fared  when  he  was  es 
caping  from  the  Apaches;  —  or  were  they  Caman- 
ches  ?     And  what  is  left  of  the  Raft,  and  what 
the  pilot  explained  to  tKem,  did  not  disappoint 
them.     The  history  of  the  Raft  can  be  made  out 
clearly  enough  by  any  traveller  who  passes  up 
the  stream.     For  there  were  places  in  the  River 
not  as  wide  as  the  steamboat  was  long,  so  that 
at  those  points  she  could  not  have  turned  round. 
For  twenty  miles,  indeed,  the  river  never  seemed 
three  times  as  wide  as  at  these  narrow  points. 
If  then,  in  some   age,  not  long   after   the   last 
deluge,  maybe,  in  some   ebbing  freshet,  which 
was  bringing  down  masses  of  floating  trees  from 
above,  two  or  three  such  trees  happened  to  make 
what  they  call  a  "jam  "  at  such  a  narrow  place ; 
if  for  two  or  three  hundred  years  there  happened 
to  be  no  eager  lumbermen,  striving  by  hook  and 
crook,  by  axe,  saw,  and  crowbar  to  loosen  this 
"  jam,"  —why,  of  course,  every  new  tree  that  floated 
down  the  river  would  pile  in  behind,  but  never 
a  tree  of  them  all  would  go  down  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.     This  is  just  what  made  the  Raft.     It 
piled  up  more  and  more,  from  year  to  year.     It 
increased  perceptibly  on  its  upper  end  within  the 
memory   of   the   present   century.      At   last   it 
became  in  many  places  a  bridge  where  you  could 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  135 

walk  across.  The  river  would  sometimes  cut 
around  it,  would  always  flow  under  it. 

So  matters  lasted  till  Uncle  Sam,  in  his  might, 
had  leisure  to  stop  and  look  at  the  Raft.  It  was 
then  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  long.  Uncle 
Sam  sent  Colonel  Shreve  with  steamboats  and 
toothpullers,  of  various  kinds,  and  bade  him  abate 
the  Raft.  This  was  in  1836.  Colonel  Shreve 
did  as  he  was  bid,  and  now  the  river  is  open 
for  hundreds  not  to  say  thousands  of  miles  above 
the  place  where  the  Raft  once  closed  it  to  all 
navigation. 

It  is  hard  to  say  what  were  the  adventures 
of  the  ever-changing  panorama,  as  the  ladies 
watched  the  shores  of  the  narrow  river.  Now 
some  young  gentleman  in  the  pilot  house  threw  a 
"  Harper's  Bazar  "  ashore  to  be  picked  up  by  the 
admiring  group  who  watched  the  boat  as  it  went 
by.  Who  was  the  "  she  "  for  whom  the  "  Bazar  " 
was  whirled  so  deftly  ?  Now  it  was  a  mountain 
of  bags  of  cotton-seed,  which  would  have  stag 
gered  the  might  of  Afrites,  which  the  good- 
natured  deck  hands  had  to  land  under  the  per 
suasion  of  _  the  eager  mate.  Now  three  little 
lambs  strayed  from  an  intelligent  mother  in  that 
exquisite  park  where  they  were  grazing,  and 
stupidly  ran  down  upon  the  beach,  so  to  call  it, 


136  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

below  the  little  bluff.  How  stupid  lambs  are ! 
The  poor  frightened  mamma  runs  along  on  the 
crests,  but  cannot  tell  them  to  turn  round,  and 
escape  the  way  they  came.  How  stupid  sheep 
are !  Narrower  grows  the  beach  and  narrower. 
Will  they  never,  never  return  to  their  mother  ? 
At  last  one  makes  a  bold  venture,  and  scrambles 
up  the  bank  !  Safe  !  Then  number  two  !  Safe 
also  !  But  here  is  number  three,  stupidest  of  all, 
will  dear  little  number  three  be  drowned  ? 

Ah  no !  The  intelligent  pilot,  equally  interested 
with  the  ladies,  gives  one  scream  from  his 
whistle ;  and,  in  an  agony  of  terror,  dear  little 
number  three  rushes  up  the  bank  to  the  welcome 
of  its  mother. 

Dear  lamb,  there  are  always  friends  watching 
us  whom  we  do  not  know.  And  the  terror  most 
terrible,  may  be  a  friend  in  disguise ! 


"  Effie !  Effie !  wake  up,  Effie !  we  are  at 
Coshatta  ? " 

This  was  Hester's  cry  to  Mrs.  Abgar  as  she  took 
her  constitutional  and  regular  siesta  after  dinner. 

"  And  what  is  Coshatta  to  me,  or  what  am  I  to 
Coshatta,"  said  poor  sleepy  Effie,  dazed  or  dozing 
as  you  choose,  when  she  emerged  at  the  outward 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  137 

door  of  her  state-room.  Observe,  untravelled 
reader,  that  each  state-room  has  two  doors.  You 
step  into  the  saloon,  or  out  upon  the  guards,  ac 
cording  as  you  go  to  dinner  or  to  see  a  landing. 

"Effie  Abgar,  I  am  ashamed  of  you.  You 
did  not  know  whether  Campte"  was  an  Indian 
mound  or  a  city,  and  now  you  do  not  know  what 
Coshatta  is.  Yet  Coshatta  furnishes,  let  me  tell 
you,  every  year  one  four-hundredth  part  of  the 
cotton  of  the  world.  The  chances  are,  therefore, 
that,  as  you  press  your  head  upon  your  pillow, 
one  two-hundredth  part  of  the  cooling  surface,  is 
from  these  ports  of  shipment.  I  am  not  wholly 
certain  indeed  whether  you  ever  heard  of  Shreve- 
port,  the  place  of  our  destination.  From  that 
port  one-fortieth  of  the  cotton  of  the  world  goes 
in  search  of  its  market." 

So  the  ladies  began  to  take  some  interest  in 
cotton,  and  to  learn  how  it  was  that  people  ever 
thought  cotton  was  king.  Here  they  took  cotton 
seed  on  board  to  land  it  there,  where  was  some 
new  plantation.  Here  was  a  plantation  wholly 
owned  and  run  by  new-made  freemen.  There 
was  an  old  plantation  on  its  mettle  to  adapt 
itself  to  the  new  order.  Everywhere  was  diligent 
care,  and,  while  the  boat  was  at  the  landing  at 
least,  vigorous  labor. 


138  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

They  went  creeping  up  among  the  cotton 
plantations  all  day,  stopping  often.  They  ex 
pected  to  get  to  Shreveport  that  night,  but  the 
fog  settled  on  them  so  heavily  at  sundown  that 
the  friendly  captain  had  to  tie  the  boat  to  a  tree, 
and  they  must  spend  one  more  night  on  board. 

Not  so  bad,  as  the  friendly  captain  said,  as  his 
mother's  experience.  She  was  forty  days  coming 
from  New  Orleans,  and  only  came  to  the  Raft 
then ! 

So  in  one  last  social  singing  party  ended  their 
last  day  in  "the  garden  of  the  world."  How 
little  they  had  thought  that  they  should  ever  feel 
at  home  on  the  Red  River !  But  there  certainly 
was  a  homesick  feeling  about  parting  from  it. 
Here  was  nice  Mrs.  Ritshey  and  her  pretty 
daughter,  here  was  poor  Miss  Harnett,  who  had 
such  a  sad  limp,  but  was  so  patient  about  it,  here 
was  the  droll  little  French  bride  who  could  not 
understand  a  word  of  English,  though  she  were 
Hester's  and  Effie's  fellow  countrywoman,  born 
under  the  American  flag,  and  under  that  flag  to 
live  till  she  should  die.  With  all  of  these  ladies 
our  travellers  had  come  to  be  intimate.  They  had 
sung  together  at  night;  they  had  copied  each 
other's  patterns  ;  they  had  borrowed  each  other's 
novels  ;  they  had  taken  each  other's  advice,  and 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


139 


told  each  other  confidential  secrets.  And  now 
they  were  to  part,  and  "  never,  never  to  see  each 
other  any  more." 

And  here  was  the  nice  Norwegian  girl  who  had 
come  to  regard  Effie  and  Hester  as  her  guardian 
angels,  and  who  had  now  only  two  hundred  miles 
more  to  travel  before  she  met  her  lover,  who  had 
travelled  a  thousand  miles  to  meet  her. 

They  all  met  for  one  last  good  sing  before 
going.  to  bed,  —  French  songs,  Yankee  songs, 
German  songs,  Texan  songs,  psalms,  and  hymns, 
and  spiritual  songs,  and  the  Norwegian  girl  con 
tributed  her 


NORWEGIAN   SONG. 


Allegretto. 


n  ^  |  1st.  \l     2nd          -=====3rfl=====~ 


dim. 


140  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

My  lover  sailed  away, 

Far,  far  beyond  the  sea ; 
But,  on  the  parting  day, 

He  gave  a  ring  to  me ; 
And  he  said,  "  If  God  should  make 

My  grave  beneath  the  sea, 
This  ring  will  snap  and  break. 

For  I'll  ne'er  come  back  to  thee." 

He  kissed  me  and  was  gone 

Far,  far  beyond  the  sea  ; 
And  I  am  left  alone  . 

For  he's  not  come  back  to  me. 
I  have  heard  of  storm -and  wrack, 

But  his  ring  is  safe  with  me  ; 
So  I  know  he  will  come  back 

To  the  ring  he  left,  and  me. 

And  with  this  pretty  omen,  if  any  one  had 
understood  the  Norwegian,  the  party  broke  up 
for  ever. 

The  next  morning  early  they  were  at  Shreve- 

port. 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

party  was  in  no  hurry.  So  Effie  and 
Hester  slept  till  morning,  though  the  boat 
was  at  the  landing  long  before.  Mrs.  Ritshey 
had  gone,  and  the  Harnetts  had  come,  met  Miss 
Harnett,  and  had  taken  her  away,  and  only  the 
Norwegian  girl  and  the  two  friends  were  left,  of 
all  last  night's  party.  There  was  no  Mr.  Hay- 
dock,  alas !  and  no  Mr.  Brinkerhoff,  as  at  friendly 
Louisville.  But  they  were  treated  with  all  the 
honors,  the  luggage  was  all  ticketed,  and  they 
evaded  all  coachmen,  and  walked  with  Lisa  to 
the  hotel  where  she  must  wait  till  the  hour  for 
her  train. 

Then  the  girls  themselves  had  some  hours, 
and  these  they  lounged  away  as  best  they  might. 
A  chance  to  buy  india-rubber  and  gamboge,  and 
court-plaster,  and  note-paper,  and  French  chalk, 
and  hair-pins,  and  every  thing  else  to  make  one 
comfortable  !  Walking  out  of  town  for  purposes 


142  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

of  sketching  proved  not  so  easy.  It  had  rained 
heavily  in  the  night,  and  the  red  mud  of  Shreve- 
port  was  as  tenacious  potter's  clay  mixed  in  with 
Upton's  glue,  when  the  same  has  been  well  made 
by  King.  When  they  first  crossed  a  street,  Effie's 
overshoe  was  drawn  off,  as  if  some  underground 
bull-dog  had  bitten  it.  It  was  only  recovered  by 
a  resolute  double-handed  pull  by  Hester,  and 
"  that  day  they  crossed  no  more  "  —  streets.  They 
retired  to  the  station-house,  made  their  sketches 
there,  and  with  a  paint-knife  cut  off  the  mud 
which  still  clung  to  the  overshoe. 

And  then,  early  in  the  forenoon,  the  train. 
Not  yet  the  Pullman,  eager  reader!  At  first 
only  a  comfortable  airy  car  —  but,  oh,  the  luxury 
of  seeing  rolling  hills  and  valleys  again  !  Hardly 
hills.  No,  not  high  hills  —  but  woods  and  slopes 
a  little  like  home  —  and  something  not  quite  flat. 
So  they  came  to  Marshall,  and  here,  after  dinner, 
swept  along  the  imperial  "through  train,"  ready 
to  pick  up  such  insignificant  loiterers  on  branches. 
How  ashamed  the  people  who  had  not  been  run 
ning  on  express  time  were  expected  to  feel ! 

But  they  were  not  ashamed/  Effie  gathered 
up  the  "  Gray's  Botany,"  the  Official  Guide  and 
the  Racine,  her  shawl-strap,  her  umbrella,  her 
water-proof  and  her  hand-bag,  and  with  two 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  143 

hands  carried  them,  and  at  the  same  moment 
held  up  her  skirts.  Hester  picked  up  her  Black's 
"  Phaeton,"  Effie's  sketch-book,  her  own  portfolio, 
in  which,  when  the  train  came,  she  was  writing 
just  a  line  to  Mr.  Haydock ;  she  took  also  her 
cloak,  her  india-rubbers  which  she  had  not  time 
to  put  on,  and  her  carpet-bag,  in  her  two  hands. 
A  cheerful  black  boy  followed  with  their  other 
"  traps,"  and  so  they  crossed  to  the  platform  of 
the  imperial  through  train.  Here  stood  a  person 
who  seemed  not  quite  a  stranger.  "  Here's  your 
drawing-room  car !  Drawing-room  car,  madam  ! " 
And  then  he  smiled  a  broader  grin  than  before. 
Effie  gave  him  her  traps  and  mounted  the  steps 
of  the  Palace,  not  recognizing.  Hester  had  a 
moment  more  to  look  on  him.  It  was  Aurelius, 
their  own  porter,  who  had  left  Jersey  City  with 
them  —  how  long  ago  it  seemed!  And  the 
Palace  —  it  was  their  own  dear  Golconda  ! 

"  Home  again,  home  again,  from  a  foreign  shore." 

And  they  passed  directly  to  "  six  and  seven," 
and  bade  Aurelius  put  their  "  things  "  there,  and 
sank  into  their  old  seats,  after  all  their  strange 
and  eventful  wanderings,  with  a  delight  which 
none  can  know  but  monarchs  who  have  returned 
to  the  serene  splendors  of  their  own  homes. 

Do   not  ask  me  how  the  "Golconda"  came 


144  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

there.  I  do  not  know,  nor  did  Aurelius  know. 
Some  hot  box  on  the  Iron  Mountain  Road  above 
had  disabled  the  "Siberia,"  and  the  "Golconda" 
had  been  substituted.  And  Aurelius,  like  the 
faithful  lackeys  of  all  palaces,  had  gone  where  his 
dynasty  had  gone,  and  was  a  Texan  to-day  as  he 
had  been  a  Jerseyman  four  days  before. 

And  in  more  senses  than  one  Hester  and  Effie 
felt  at  home.  The  country  of  Eastern  Texas, 
where  they  now  were,  is  not  the  rich  and  fertile 
region  of  which  Texas  boasts  most.  But  these 
ladies  had  seen  their  fill,  for  the  moment,  of  fer 
tile  lands.  And  what  pleased  them  here,  was 
that  as  one  rode,  this  looked  like  the  woodlands 
of  Eastern  Massachusetts,  or  of  unmountainous 
Rhode  Island.  Of  course  the  flora  differs,  but  a 
pine  is  a  pine,  and  though  the  skilful  Hester  knew 
and  the  keen-sighted  Effte  perceived  that  these 
pines  were  not  their  pines,  still  they  were  glad 
that  they  were  pines  at  all.  There  were  rolling 
hills,  and  railroad  cuts  enough  to  keep  up  the 
general  resemblance. 

It  was  no  such  country  that  the  torrent  of  emi 
grants  had  come  to  see,  and  they  were  sweeping 
on  further.  The  existence  of  the  Palace  car  in 
such  regions  makes  all  other  cars  "second-class" 
and  a  wild  enough  look,  unkempt  and  untidy 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  145 

have  the  body  of  passengers  in  them.  They 
have  slept  in  these  seats,  perhaps  they  have 
eaten  in  them,  and  have  drank  in  them,  and  have 
made  in  them  such  toilets  as  they  make.  And 
they  are  of  every  country  that  emerged  from 
Babel.  Chinaman,  black  man,  red  man,  Hun 
garian,  Austrian,  Prussian,  Frenchman,  Spaniard, 
Englishman,  Scotchman,  Welshman  and  Irish 
man,  Jews  and  Proselytes,  Cretes  and  Arabians, 
might  all  meet  in  one  of  these  emigrant  trains. 
The  ladies  would  visit  them  sometimes  to  carry  an 
orange  or  a  banana  to  some  of  the  tired  children. 
And  they  were  learning,  all  the  time,  how  true  it 
is  that  their  own  country  is  one  out  of  many. 

It  will  never  do  to  try  to  follow  along  their 
diaries,  with  their  vain  and  vague  attempts  to 
sleep  off  wheels  at  night,  that  as  they  rode  they 
might  see  spring-time,  the  first  real  spring-time 
they  had  ever  seen,  in  beautiful  Texas,  —  where,  if 
anywhere,  spring  is  spring.  The  trouble  of  all 
such  steps,  in  the  Western  system  of  travel,  is 
this.  There  is  but  one  fast  train  a  day.  That  is, 
there  is  but  one  "lightning  express."  What  is 
called  a  "fast  train"  on  the  schedule,  may,  very 
probably,  be  the  slowest  train  of  all.  If  then, 
you  leave  the  lightning  express  at  iih.  55'  to 
day,  it  will  be  to  take  it  again  at  iih.  56'  to- 


10 


146  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

morrow,  or  any  subsequent  day  for  the  next  year 
that  you  may  choose.  If  you  take  another  train, 
at  another  hour,  it  is,  most  likely,  only  to  be  over 
taken  by  the  lightning  train  before  twenty-four 
hours  have  gone.  And  you  must  sacrifice  your 
Palace  if  you  cease  to  ride,on  the  lightning. 

For  all  that,  and  for  all  that,  the  two  travellers 
did  alight  at  Hearne.  Do  you  remember  in  the 
old  geographies  "Arctic  Ocean,  seen  by  Mr. 
Hearne  ? "  He  must  have  been  another  Hearne 
than  this  Hearne.  This  unknown  Hearne  has 
given  his  name  to  a  place  where  the  H.  &  T.  C. 
crosses  the  I.  and  G.  N. ;  and,  if  you  do  not  know 
what  that  means,  it  is  not  my  fault,  but  the  crime 
of  the  teacher  who  taught  you  geography.  And 
here,  on  a  level  prairie,  is  a  station-house,  which 
is  what  people  there  call  a  hotel,  what  in  old 
Yankee  times,  men  would  have  called  a  tavern, 
and  there  are  the  other  accessories  of  a  junction. 

And  here,  on  a  lovely  morning,  the  girls  took 
their  lives  in  their  hands,  and  also  took  the  bot 
any  books,  and  the  sketch-books,  and  the  colors, 
and  walked  into  the  Infinite.  You  cannot  do 
this  long  when  you  start  from  a  beach,  because 
you  find  the  water  cold,  and  you  must  come  back 
to  the  Finite.  On  a  prairie  you  can  keep  on 
longer.  Fences  were  left  at  once.  Tracks  of 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  147 

cows  vanished  soon.  And  then  blazes  of  yellow 
flowers,  flushes  of  pink  flowers,  blue  streaks  of 
flowers  unnamed,  all  lapped  in  the  eternal  emerald 
green.  Not  without  clumps  of  trees,  oh,  ignorant 
Yankee  !  and  in  such  a  clump  the  girls  encamped, 
and  took  out  the  paints,  and  blotched  in  pink 
madder,  and  rose  madder,  and  Naples  yellow,  and 
all  the  yellows,  and  tried  all  the  greens  and 
purples,  and  indeed  all  the  colors  of  the  prism, 
in  the  hope  to  carry  something  home  of  the  glories 
of  a  prairie  in  spring.  Such  a  morning !  Think 
how  they  would  never  have  known  what  they 
lost  had  they  not  spent  that  morning  in  Hearne! 

Just  a  word  here  for  the  clean  napkins,  and 
bright  spoons,  and  crisp  radishes,  and  thought 
ful  table  service  of  their  dinner  there  !  But  we 
must  not  stop  —  no,  not  for  dinners  or  for  flowers. 
On  and  on,  on  and  on,  till  we  are  waked  our 
second  morning  as  a  chattering  Englishman 
wakes  his  wife  in  8  and  9,  saying  that  "  It's  very 
like  a  park  at  home,  my  dear." 

"  I  don't  want  to  live  here ! "  was  her  wretched 
groan  in  reply. 

But  perhaps  she  changed  her  mind  afterwards. 


For  Effie  and  for  Hester  —  though  half  Hes 
ter's  heart  was  in  St.  Auguste  —  Austin  had  a 


148  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

thousand  charms.  No !  nobody  could  call  that 
hotel  a  palace,  though  Austin  is  the  capital  of  an 
empire.  But  the  friends  who  took  care  of  them, 
the  pretty  homes,  the  lovely  gardens,  the  charm 
ing  drives,  made  them  forget  the  hotel,  which  in 
deed,  from  morning  to  night,  they  hardly  saw. 
What  fate  had  bent  them  to  go  to  San  Antonio  ? 
Why  not  find  some  quiet  lodging  here,  a  little 
out  of  the  streets  of  Austin,  and  nestle  down  for 
the  spring-time,  the  sketching,  the  painting,  for 
the  rest  which  they  had  been  madly  pursuing  so 
long  ?  Just  as  at  Arcadie,  it  seemed  so  stupid  to 
go  farther.  At  Austin  it  seemed  as  if  they  had 
all  they  asked  for  when  they  left  home. 

All  Austin  was  crazy  about  the  choice  of  a 
United  States  Senator.  Not  that  anybody  seemed 
to  care  much  about  United  States  politics.  But 
here  was  an  honorable  post,  for  six  years,  to  be 
given  to  some  one  who  deserved  well  of  his 
country.  "Ah,  Mrs.  Abgar,"  said  a  gentleman 
to  Effie,  "  ten  years  hence  you  will  not  have  to 
trouble  yourselves  who  shall  be  your  president. 
We  will  choose  him  for  you  in  Texas  !  " 

In  truth  the  population  of  the  Empire  of  Texas 
doubles  every  five  years.  In  1870,  it  was  eight 
hundred  thousand  ;  in  1875,  they  say  it  was  one 
million  six  hundred  thousand. 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


149 


The  hotel  parlor  brought  together  all  the 
nationalities  of  the  world  again,  as  different 
people,  of  rather  higher  social  grade  than  the 
girls  had  seen  on  the  trains,  were  making  their 
arrangements  for  new  homes.  What  a  reper 
toire  of  music  that  piano  repeats  as  the  year 
goes  by! 

Here  were  the  English  family,  whom  the  wait 
ers  would  call  the  Member  of  Parliament ;  here 
were  some  Italians,  from  Memphis,  strange  to 
say,  not  from  Genoa ;  here  were  gentlemen  and 
ladies  from  the  ends  of  the  earth.-  And  the  scrap 
which  Effie  wrote  down,  her  last  night  in  Austin, 
was  not  a  camp-meeting  song,  nor  a  ballad  of  the 
Brazos,  but  a  little  air  of  Verdi's.  All  the  same, 
he  who  sang  was  an  American  born,  while  he 
sang  in  the  only  language  he  had  ever  heard  at 
home. 

con  brio,      x-*  -.,. >^— -^  >-^— =,    leciq. 


La    donna  &    mo  -  bi  -  le    qual  piuma  al     ven  -  to, 


1 


1 —  —  —  — r~ 


mu-ta  d'ac  -  cen  -  to       e    di  -  pen  -  sie  -  ro.    Sempre  un  a 


WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


ma-bi-le    leggia-dro    vi  -  so,  in  pianto  o  in  ri  -  so    e  men-zo- 


gne  -  ro        La    donna  e  mo  -  bil       qual  piuma  al  ven  -  to, 


mu  -  ta  d'ac-cen-to    e  di        pen  -  -  sier, 


4& 


e          di        pen  -  sier,  e 

conforza 


e         di 


sempre  mi-se-ro 


chi  a  lei  s'af-fi  -  da        chi  le   con  -  fi  -  -  da       mal 


canto  il 


co  -  re  !      Pur  mai  non  sente  -  si      fe-lice  ap  -  pie  -  nc 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


chi  su  quel     se  -  no    non  liba  a       mo  -  re  I      La  donna  e 


mo  -  bil    qual  piuma  al  ven  -  to        mu  -  ta  d'ac  -  cen  -to 


sier,        e 


e        di        pen  -  sier. 


Woman  is  changeable ! 
Light  as  a  feather, — 
False  as  fair  weather. 

Who  can  believe  her  ? 
Always  a  beautiful  face  so  beguiling, 
Weeping  or  smiling, 
Yet  a  deceiver ! 

Woman  ah  woman  ! 
Light  as  a  feather  ! 
False  as  fair  weather, 
Who  can  believe  ? 


152  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

Oh,  it  is  misery  ! 
Fondly  confiding  ! 
Tamely  abiding 

Her  fickle  fancies, 
Always  felicity 
Mocks  the  pursuer, 
Whom  as  her  wooer 
Love  ne'er  entrances. 

Woman  ah  woman  ! 
Light  as  a  feather  ! 
False  as  fair  weather, 
Who  can  believe  ? 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  153 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

"PLEASE  to  observe  that,  in  distance,  from 
Shreveport  to  Austin  these  ladies  had 
travelled  about  four  hundred  miles,  say  as  much 
as  the  width  of  France  from  the  Bay  of  Biscay 
to  Switzerland.  But  they  had  not  crossed  half  of, 
the  Empire  of  Texas,  for  Texas  is  an  Empire ; 
and,  by  the  way,  be  it  said,  she  knows  she  is. 

Who  were  these  ladies  then  that  they  should 
stay,  even  in  the  prettiest  garden  in  Austin,  or 
waste  a  month  on  its  pleasantest  verandah,  and 
go  home  to  confess  that  they  had  not  gone  half 
across  Texas.  They  must  see  some  Mexicans  ! 
They  must  know  a  ranchero  by  sight !  They 
must  walk  and  talk  Spanish. 

For  San  Antonio  they  had  started,  and  to  San 
Antonio  they  would  go.     They  would  show  they 
were  not  women  to  be  turned  about  by  every 
word  of  friendship. 
"  '  The  zeal  that  drove  them  from  their  native  home 

Shall  drive  them  gadding  round  the  world  to  roam.' " 

said  the  wretched  Effie,  parodying  Dryden,  as 


154  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

she  packed  a  pot  of  sensitive  plants  in  a  safe 
place  among  her  spring  bonnets  and  laces  in  the 
agony  of  the  late  Sunday  night  before  they 
started  across  the  prairies.  That  kind  Judge 
Treadwell  who  had  done  every  thing  for  them  so 
carefully  had  engaged  an  ambulance  and  a  driver 
who  was  to  take  them  to  San  Antonio.  "  If  the 
man  were  my  own  brother,  Mrs.  Abgar,  I  could 
not  trust  him  more  implicitly  than  I  trust  Dustin. 
I  have  sent  Mrs.  Treadwell  and  the  children  with 
him  over  the  prairies  a  hundred  times.  I  do  so 
wish  I  could  go  with  you  !  "  So  they  were  really 
to  go  in  "  an  ambulance." 

"  Any  thing,  my  dear  Effie,"  said  Hester,  "  so 
it  be  not  a  stage-coach." 

For  since  Hester's  wretched  failure  in  taking 
care  of  herself  on  this  great  party,  she  had  sub 
sided  ignominiously,  and  she  was  no  longer  the 
chief  of  the  expedition.  Effie  made  all  the 
arrangements  now.  The  pretence  that  either 
knew  an  inch  of  the  geography  had  been  long 
since  abandoned. 

At  half -past  seven  an  eager  waiter  at  Hester's 
door  announced  that  the  "  ambyourlance "  had 
come.  Hester  flung  the  door  open,  bade  him 
strap  her  trunk  and  take  it  down,  gathered  i,  2, 
3,  4,  and  took  them  herself,  fairly  ashamed  of  her 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  155 

own  eagerness  to  see  what  manner  of  machine  an 
ambulance  might  be. 

She  found  simply  a  long  canvas-topped  wagon, 
lightly  sprung  —  such  as  she  had  ridden  in,  on  the 
White  Mountains,  twenty  times,  and  had  never 
heard  called  an  ambulance  before.  There  were 
but  two  seats  in  it,  where  there  might  have  been 
three ;  but,  as  the  party  was  so  small,  the  middle 
seat  had  been  taken  away  to  make  the  more  room 
for  the  luggage.  Half  amused  and  half  provoked 
with  herself,  she  turned  to  meet  Effie  and  see  if 
she  would  confess  to  any  surprise. 

"  Is  this  an  ambulance  ?  I  supposed  there 
would  be  a  bed  in  it,  .and  that  I  should  lie  in  it  all 
day,  and  you  sit  by  my  side  in  the  costume 
of  Florence  Nightingale  to  feed  me  with  pare 
goric." 

A  little  crest-fallen,  they  hurried  through  the 
last  breakfast  at  Austin,  and  then,  to  the  relief 
of  the  good-natured  Dustin,  the  tall  Pennsyl- 
vanian  to  whose  escort  they  were  entrusted,  they 
mounted  their  chariot  and  were  away. 

A  lovely  morning  !  "  Why,  it  is  really  May-day, 
Hester,  of  all  the  days  in  the  year ! "  The  air 
fresh  and  even  bracing,  the  sun  just  clouded 
without  the  slightest  risk  of  rain.  Dust  laid;  who 
shall  say  how  ?  since  no  rain  had  fallen  for  weeks. 


156  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

Light  hearts,  light  freight,  a  cheerful  driver,  and 
a  good  team,  who  could  ask  for  a  better  way  to 
spend  May-day  ? 

Effie's  first  chance  for  a  sketch  —  and  that  only 
the  barest  suggestion  of  values  and  of  groups  — 
was  as  you  leave  the  city  at  the  ford  of  the  Colo 
rado.  When  the  river  chooses  to  rise,  and  no 
body  knows  when  that  will  be,  it  is  twenty-three 
hundred  feet  wide.  On  this  May-day  it  was  per 
haps  sixty  yards  across.  The  horses  were  to  be 
watered  before  crossing  it,  and  at  that  moment  a 
drove  of  beautiful  cattle,  a  drove  to  fill  Rosa  Bon- 
heur,  nay  Juno  herself,  with  rapture,  chose  to  file 
across  the  river  at  just  middle  distance  from 
them,  so  prettily  grouped,  and  the  varied  figures 
standing  out  so  well  against  the  water  and  the 
distant  sky-line  !  Then  the  ambulance  was  to 
ford  as  soon  as  the  "  stage  "  had  gone  by.  Neither 
of  the  girls  had  ever  forded  a  river.  At  the  bot 
tom  of  each  heart  was  sober  certainty  that  they 
should  be  swept  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  But 
each  was  ashamed  to  tell  the  other,  and  as  in 
truth  there  was  no  danger  nor  shadow  of  danger, 
they  could  enjoy  the  wonderful  picture  all  the 
way.  A  hard  pull  across  the  dry  river-bed  and 
then  began  the  wonders  of  eighty  miles'  drive 
through  a  park  of  matchless  beauty. 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  157 

Yes,  everybody  says  "An  English  park!"  like 
the  sturdy  Englishman  to  his  berth-dozed  wife 
in  the  Pullman.  High  praise,  to  our  English 
friends.  Twenty  years  ago  Robin  said  of  these 
prairies,  "Like  a  park;"  good  Mr.  Flint  keeps 
saying,  "  You  would  think  you  were  in  a  park." 
That  clever  English  woman,  thirty  years  after, 
says  "It  is  all  like  a  park."  And  as  the  girls 
dipped  into  Mr.  Olmsted's  Texas  from  time  to 
time  they  could  not  but  ask  whether  inspirations 
from  these  Texan  parks  had  not  stolen  since  into 
the  masterpieces  of  his  success. 

The  road  was  perfect.  It  would  not  have  been 
so  after  rain.  But  now  the  most  sensitive  critic, 
could  not  ask  any  thing  better.  Sometimes  it  was 
fenced  in,  much  more  often  not.  Almost  never 
was  it  exactly  level,  not  once  so  steep  but  that 
the  horses  kept  the  even  tenor  of  their  trot. 

"Oh,  Effie!  look  here."  "Hester,  do  look 
there."  "  See  that  distance  ;  would  you  not  be 
certain  it  was  the  sea  ? "  "  Was  ever  any  thing 
grouped  like  those  trees  ? "  "  Had  you  any  idea 
that  a  prairie  was  so  beautiful  ?"  "Do  you  sup 
pose  this  is  a  bona  fide  prairie  ?  there  are  so  many 
trees."  And  so  on,  and  so  on. 

And  then  the  flowers  !  May-day  indeed.  Hes 
ter  had  been  in  Switzerland  at  the  end  of  June, 


158  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

years  on  years  before,  and  often  had  she  raptured 
to  Effie  about  the  day's  ride,  in  which  they  col 
lected  a  hundred  varieties  of  flowers,  most  of 
them  new  to  them.  Here  was  the  same  experi 
ence  in  a  new  form.  And  these  were  not  horrid 
coarse  things,  as  people  say  prairie  flowers  are. 
Any  one  of  the  succession  of  the  nosegays  which 
Tom  Dustin  gathered  for  them,  or  which  for 
themselves  the  girls  gathered  in  one  or  another 
irrepressible  escape  from  the  carriage,  would 
have  been  a  beauty  and  a  joy  in  any  competition 
with  any  collection.  Mistress  botanist  Hester, 
prime  botanist  extraordinary  to  the  expedition, 
was  beside  herself  for  names,  and  the  well-bat 
tered  "  Gray "  lying  in  the  bottom  of  the  wagon 
proved  of  more  use  to  press  things  in,  which 
were  to  be  sent  home  to  Letitia  to  soak  out  in 
water  and  analyze,  than  for  a  guide  in  nomencla 
ture.  The  "Gray"  stood  bold  to  its  determina 
tion  to  pass  no  limit  "south  of  Kentucky  and 
Virginia." 

"He  won't  pass  it,"  said  Effie,  proudly,  "but 
we  have." 

This  list  may  well  be  compared  with  the  lists 
of  Swiss  travel.  Dividing  by  old  Ransom's  floral 
system,  in  which  there  were  nine  classes  of 
flowers  based  on  the  several  tints  of  the  rainbow, 
there  were,  to  use  his  language  : 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  159 

1.  "Them  as  bears  the  white  blossom."     In 
this  class  was  the  original  Eupatorium  of  Ran 
som,  and  two  or  three  other  varieties !     Be  it 
said   to   the   unlearned   that   when   a   botanical 
writer  wants  to  say  he  has  seen  a  thing  himself, 
he  marks  it  with  the  mark  of  exclamation  (!),  and 
when  he  doubts  the  remark  of  another  he  ap 
pends  an   interrogation  (?).     The  girls,  as  they 
made  their  list,  when  Dustin  was  watering  or  at 
other  writing  spots,  delighted  in  the  immense 
ejaculations  which  lighted  it  up. 

It  went  on. 

2.  "  Them  as  bears  the  violet  blossom." 

"  Is  magenta  violet  ? "  "  No,  child,  magenta  is 
red.  Are  you  color  blind  ?  "  "  Then  I  shall  put 
in  purple  lupine  and  false  lupine  here."  "Put  in 
what  you  choose.  You  already  see  the  radical 
error  of  Ransom's  system."  But  down  went  the 
two  lupines  with  two  marks  of  wonder  ! !  And 
purple  verbenas,  of  which  there  were  acres  on 
acres  of  color,  had  to  come  in  here. 

3.  "  Them  as  bears  the  indigo  blossom." 
Hester  was  blank  here.     She  had  only  two  or 

three  vile  hyssops  which  she  could  have  gathered 
in  any  barnyard.     But  when  they  came  to 

4.  "  Them  as  bears  the  blue  blossom,"  she  put 
down  lupines  and  blue  verbenas.    "  What  is  that 


160          WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

about  that  Horticultural  Society  which  offered  a 
prize  for  blue  verbenas  ?  Was  it  all  humbug ;  or 
why  did  not  somebody  come  here  and  win  the 
sordid  dross  ?  Here  I  must  put  in  many  sur 
prise  marks  to  show  my  scorn  of  the  older  ob 
server." 

But  these  things  were  only  preliminary.  "  Blue 
flowers  ? "  said  Hester,  "  I  always  distrusted  blue 
flowers.  My  verbenas  at  home  always  had.  a 
passion  for  running  into  the  class  of  purples, 
though  I  never  got  the  prize."  It  was  not  till  she 
came  to  her  reds  that  she  ran  rampant. 

This  magenta  blossom  which  she  wanted  to 
put  in  first,  which  the  maidens  of  the  region  call 
"wild  Hollyhock,"  the  painted  cup  —  only  red 
reminiscence  of  New  England  —  the  Star  of 
Texas,  an  exquisitely  cut  flower  of  very  delicate 
pink,  these  were  alone  enough  to  give  dignity  to 
class  No.  5  of  the  Ransomic  system.  So  different 
from  lands  where  the  ruling  color  is  yellow  on 
grass  ! 

But,  when  the  girls  had  come  to  "  Class  No.  5," 
their  classification  ended  in  their  first  reasonable 
access  of  terror. 

Judge  Treadwell  had  not  told  them  that,  ten 
days  before,  the  mail-coach  had  been  attacked  by 
highwaymen,  and  all  their  watches  and  money 
taken  from  the  passengers. 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


But  this  was  really  the  reason  why  he  had  en 
trusted  them  to  Dustin  and  an  ambulance.  The 
"private  team"  is  safer  because  nobody  knows  it 
is  coming. 

Erne  had  seen'  on  a  hand-bill  in  the  post-office 
offering  a  "REWARD"  that  the  mail  had  been 
robbed.  But  she  had  not  mentioned  it  to  Hester. 
Hester  had  seen  the  same  "  Reward  "  offered 
in  a  Galveston  newspaper.  But  she  had  not 
shown  it  to  Effie,  and  had  torn  the  paper  to  bits 
lest  she  should  see  it. 

Dustin  was  no  more  anxious  about  the  matter 
than  he  was  at  the  danger  of  a  thunderbolt 
because  he  had  heard  of  thunderbolts.  But  he 
had  too  much  sense  to  speak  of  it  to  the  ladies. 

All  the  same,  however,  when,  as  he  gathered 
up  his  reins  after  watering  the  horses,  looking 
back  on  the  Eastern  horizon,  he  saw  two  men, 
perhaps  two  miles  away,  pressing  their  horses 
towards  him  on  a  hard  gallop,  Dustin  stepped 
back  into  the  ambulance  rather  too  hastily.  And 
he  gave  the  horses  rather  an  untimely  and  un 
gracious  cut.  For  Dustin  meant  to  push  them 
beyond  the  strip  of  wood-land  which  they  were 
entering  before  these  horsemen  overhauled  him. 
It  was  in  this  very  strip  of  wood-land  that  the 
mail  had  been  overhauled. 


1 62  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

The  sun  was  now  setting,  as  far  as  ever  in  ad 
vance  of  them,  though  they  had  travelled  towards 
him  so  long. 

The  accent  of  Dustin's  cry  to  his  team  was 
unfortunate. 

Hester,  more  nervous  than  usual,  perhaps, 
caught  the  alarm.  She  had  noticed  his  look  back 
and  the  sudden  change  of  his  manner.  She 
thrust  her  body  out  of  the  carriage,  looked  back, 
and  saw  the  horsemen  against  the  eastern  sky. 

"  It  is  the  robbers  !  It  is  the  robbers  !  "  she 
sobbed,  as  she  fell  back. 

And  Dustin  did  not  say  her  no.  But  he  "cut" 
the  horses  again  with  that  same  merciless  lash 
which  the  ladies  had  never  seen  before. 

Effie  Abgar  thrust  her  body  out  on  her  side. 
She  saw  the  two  horsemen  also. 

She  said  no  word.  But  she  detached  her 
watch  and  chain,  she  wrapped  them  in  her  hand 
kerchief  with  her  purse,  and  she  crowded  the 
whole  into  the  bottom  of  the  bag  of  corn  which 
Dustin  had  for  his  horses.  She  bade  Hester  do 
the  same  with  hers. 

A  stern  chase  is  a  long  chase.  And  the  two 
bays  understood  what  was  expected.  The  road 
was  rougher  in  that  thicket  than  in  the  open 
prairie.  But  the  ambulance  held  together,  even 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  163 

though  it  sprang  wildly  from  side  to  side,  and 
sometimes  toppled  fearfully  as  if  it  would  go 
over. 

Dustin  only  spoke  to  his  "  cattle."  And  the 
girls  said  no  word  to  each  other  or  to  him. 

But  they  knew  what  he  thought  the  exigency 
when  they  saw  the  horses  break  into  that  wild 
run  from  the  quick  trot  before,  unchecked  by 
him. 

Up  a  little  slope  —  round  a  curve  in  the  timber. 
Then  Dustin  spoke,  — 

"  When  we  have  rounded  yon  oak,  mum,  we 
shall  be  in  sight  of  Tremlett's,  and  all's  well." 

But  yon  oak  was  fearfully  far  away  !  They  had 
not  reached  it,  no,  nor  half  reached  it,  when  they 
could  hear  horses'  hoofs  behind  them. 

Then  they  could  hear  voices,  "  Hold  up  !  Hold 
up  !  Tom  Dustin,  hold  up  ! " 

But  Tom  Dustin  this  time  really  swore  at  his 
horses,  though  he  had  never  been  known  to  be 
profane  before,  and  cut  more  unmercifully  than 
ever. 

"Rat,  tat,  tat:  rat,  tat,  tat"  — how  fearfully 
near  the  hoofs  came  ! 

And  at  last,  though  the  road  was  narrow,  a 
white  horse  dashed  by  them. 

"  Will  you  hold  up,  I  say  ?  " 


164.          WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


I 


N  all  narratives  of  adventure,  there  is,  at  the 
crisis,  one  satisfaction  for  the  reader ;  viz., 
that  he  can  judge  by  the  mere  number  of  pages 
between  him  and  the  end  of  the  book,  whether 
there  be  any  thing  more  to  tell.  Whether  a  given 
earthquake  engulfed  all  the  persons  of  whom 
the  book  has  treated,  or  only  one  half  of  them,  or 
possibly  only  one  quarter,  may  be  roughly  deter 
mined  by  the  rule  of  three.  And  thus,  most 
skilful  readers  are  aware,  that  in  the  real  tug  and 
throe  of  a  book,  when  the  "  Alert "  is  pinched  hard 
est  in  the  floe  ;  or  when  nineteen  lions,  with  mouths 
open,  are  ranged  in  a  circle  around  Captain  Cum- 
ming  and  his  two  discouraged  naked  Mnoongsa 
guides,  —  most  readers,  I  say,  are  aware,  that  to 
themselves,  "  about  one  quarter  of  this  book  is 
yet  unread,  therefore  about  one  quarter  of  the 
people  in  it  still  live."  To  persons  who  begin  at 
the  last  chapter,  and  read  backward,  this  calcula 
tion  is  unnecessary.  But  their  system  is  so 


OF  A  PULLMAN.  165 

destructive,  so  injurious  to  all  effects,  whether  of 
poetical  justice  as  wrought  out  in  nature  and  in 
fact,  or  of  the  deftly  devised  plot  even  of  the  most 
skilful  novelist,  that  it  is  justly  condemned  in  all 
courts  of  literary  justice,  where  authors  are  the 
arbiters.  The  true  formula,  as  has  been  said,  for 
discovering  the  exact  annihilating  power  of  any 
earthquake,  epidemic,  hari-kari,  rise  of  a  tidal 
wave,  undrained  village  street,  collision  of  trains, 
or,  as  in  our  little  book,  an  attack  of  banditti, 
will  be  found  in  the  following  equation : 

P 

Where  #  represents  the  number  of  survivors 
after  the  crisis,  c  the  whole  number  of  characters, 
/  the  number  of  pages  read,  and  n  the  number 
of  pages  in  all. 

It  is  only  when  Messrs.  Longman  or  Messrs. 
Roberts  pad  the  end  of  the  book  with  thick  ad 
vertising  sheets,  that  the  average  reader  is  misled 
by  this  formula.  And  this  custom  is  so  annoy 
ing,  that  in  Sybaris,  and  in  the  Young  Com 
panions'  Country,  the  custom  of  Utopia  is  still 
maintained,  where,  by  statute,  publishers  were 
compelled  to  put  the  advertising  sheets  at  the 
beginning  of  the  volume. 

In  the  case  of  the  little  adventure  with  which 


1 66          WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

our  last  chapter  closed,  the  purposes  of  melo 
drama  would  have  been  better  accomplished  had 
the  brigands  succeeded  in  rifling  the  purses  of 
the  ladies  and  taking  their  watches.  In  very 
fact,  only  ten  days  before,  two  men  on  this 
same  road,  took  nine  watches  from  nine  stage- 
travellers,  two  of  whom  were  officers  in  the 
United  States  army  ;  and,  about  ten  days  after, 
a  similar  event  took  place  on  the  Southern  road 
to  San  Antonio.  If,  at  that  point,  Fred  Hay- 
dock  and  Mr.  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  had  started 
out  from  a  thicket,  had  killed  two  banditti  with 
revolvers,  and  slain  two  by  the  edge  of  the  sword, 
escaping  themselves  miraculously  with  only  a 
slight  flesh-wound  in  Fred  Haydock's  left  arm, 
which  Hester  herself  were  permitted  to  band 
age,  this  little  story  would  have  had  just  the 
element  of  romance  which,  alas,  it  has  not ;  and 
these  remaining  pages  would  have  had  just 
enough  of  blood,  of  arnica,  and  of  the  Extract  of 
Hamamelis  to  give  them  interest  in  the  eyes  of 
the  general  reader. 

But,  really,  this  was  not  what  happened.  So 
soon  as  Dustin  saw  the  white  horse  pass  him,  he 
knew  the  game  was  up.  He  sulkily  drew  up  his 
own  beasts,  and  even  swore  at  them  because 
they  did  not  stop  as  sharply  as  he  wished  them 
to  do. 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  167 

The  other  rider,  on  a  bay  horse  speckled  with 
the  frothing  of  his  own  running,  passed  on  the 
other  side. 

The  two  girls  sat  back  in  the  ambulance  with 
no  feeling  of  terror  now.  Effie  was  conscious  of 
the  simple  feeling  of  amusement,  and  Hester's 
was  crude  curiosity.  "  What  would  happen 
next  ? " 

What  happened  was,  that  the  bay  horse  was 
checked  most  easily,  and  his  rider  turned  him. 

It  was  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  who  said,  "  I  hope 
we  did  not  frighten  you."  And  then  as  he  saw 
that  the  party  had  been  frightened,  he  was  abject 
and  eager  in  his  mortified  apologies.  But  really 
the  young  men  were  not  so  much  to  blame. 
They  had  arrived  in  Austin  only  that  morning. 
All  their  time  there  was  spent  in  tracing  the 
ladies,  and  they  had  been  on  one  or  two  false 
trails.  They  had  known  nothing  of  mail  rob 
bers,  and  were  both  of  them,  sooth  to  say,  so 
ignorant  of  Texas  and  its  customs  that  they 
thought  of  such  things  as  little  as  they  would 
have  done  in  East  Orange  or  in  North  New 
Milan.  As  they  dashed  after  the  ambulance  they 
were  only  afraid  that  some  drunken  driver  had 
these  two  ladies  in  his  care. 

Poor  Tom  Dustin ! 


168          WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

No,  Lily !  No,  Emma !  The  measurement  of  the 
Town  and  Country  series  is  pitiless,  is  remorse 
less.  There  must  be  no  space  wasted  in  these 
pages  on  what  Fred  Haydock  did  or  did  not  say 
to  the  two  ladies  as  he  walked  by  the  side  of  the 
carriage,  while  his  horse  followed  meekly,  and 
the  cortege  went  down  to  Tremlett's.  For  of 
course  with  Hiram  Brinkerhorf  was  Fred  Hay- 
dock.  Of  course  the  one  had  seen  his  corre 
spondents  in  New  Orleans,  in  Baton  Rouge,  in 
Nachitoches,  and  had  then  hurried  to  Austin  to 
meet  his  appointment  with  Fred.  Of  course  the 
other  had  wound  up  all  the  government  business 
in  St.  Auguste,  and  had  hurried  by  Galveston  to 
Austin  to  meet  his  appointment  with  Hiram. 
Hester  Sutphen  had  unfortunately  missed  the 
telegram  which  begged  her  to  wait  till  they 
came.  So  was  it  that  while  the  girls  going  out 
from  Austin  were  fording  the  Colorado,  the  two 
gentlemen  were  entering  Austin  in  seats  six  and 
seven  of  the  "  Golconda." 

Then,  as  has  been  said,  they  were  on  a  false 
trail  at  first.  None  the  less  did  they  mount 
themselves  well  at  Austin  and  went  in  pursuit, 
with  what  fatal  success  the  reader  has  seen. 

The  ladies  were  forgiving,  more  forgiving 
perhaps  than  the  gentleftien  deserved.  With 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  169 

much  laughter  the  watches  were  disinterred 
from  the  bags  of  corn.  On  a  sober  walk  all  the 
steeds  came  up  to  Tremlett's.  The  people  at 
Tremlett's  were  amazed  to  see  Tom  Dustin's 
team  come  in,  in  such  a  lather.  But  their  curi 
osity  was  not  appeased  at  first,  and  the  young 
ladies  were  at  once  received,  in  the  simple  kind 
ness  of  the  hospitality  of  a  wayside  inn  in  Texas, 
to  the  cold  water  and  other  refreshment  which 
should  restore  them  from  the  terrors  of  the  last 
hurried  mile. 

In  the  "gallery"  hung  a  pail  of  water,  because 
in  a  country  where  ice  is  unknown  in  May,  the 
best  chances  for  keeping  water  cool  come,  by 
maintaining  for  it  a  steady  evaporation  on  every 
side.  The  gentlemen  dipped  from  the  pail,  and 
made  their  ablutions  there.  Hiram  even  had  a 
chance  to  open  his  ready  sketch-book,  and  by 
one  or  two  tints  to  give  some  of  the  effects  of 
the  sunset,  when  they  were  all  summoned  to 
gether  to  supper. 

They  found  that  they  were  not  the  only  trav 
ellers.  From  one  and  another  point  different 
people  assembled,  and  it  proved  that  an  extra 
stage  had  "  put  up  "  for  the  night,  and  that  some 
wayfarers  "in  pursuit  of  lost  horses  were  here. 
The  meal  was  served  in  a  rough  ell  behind  the 


1 70  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

house  ;  and  the  several  guests  —  some  in  their 
shirt  sleeves,  some  in  more  full  costume  —  gath 
ered  silently  at  the  long  table. 

No  one  spoke.  And,  in  a  moment,  the  reason 
was  apparent,  as  Tremlett,  the  innkeeper,  at  the 
head  of  the  board  bowed,  and  in  simple  language 
asked  a  blessing. 

"Talk  about  godless  Texas,"  said  Hiram, 
afterwards,  as  he  and  Fred  went  to  look  after 
their  horses'  cheer.  "  It  is  the  only  region  where 
I  have  ever  travelled,  where  an  inn-keeper  asks 
a  blessing,  before  his  guests  fall  to." 

A  beautiful  moon  had  come  up  while  they  were 
at  supper.  The  air  was  clear  as  in  a  winter 
night  in  New  England.  The  ladies  sat  a  little 
while  on  the  gallery,  but  then  owned  they  were 
tired,  and  bade  good-night,  led  away  under  Mrs. 
Tremlett's  watchful  care  to  see  what  manner  of 
contrivances  Mrs.  Tremlett's  beds  might  be. 
As  the  good  lady  lighted  her  "  dip,"  she  turned 
kindly  to  Hester,  and  said,  inquiringly : 

"  You're  from  the  East,  my  dear  ? " 

Hester  said  she  was. 

"  From  Chicago  ?  "  continued  Mrs.  Tremlett. 

"Oh!  farther  than  Chicago,"  said  Hester, 
laughing. 

"  From  New  York  ?  " 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


"  Oh  !  farther  than  New  York.  I  am  from 
Boston  !  " 

"  From  Boston,  be  you,"  said  the  good  lady, 
indeed  surprised.  "  Then  you  speak  French  !  " 
And  so  the  mystery  of  Hester's  and  Effie's  bad 
English  and  foreign  accent  were  accounted  for. 
This  was  not  the  only  time  in  Texas  when  they 
found  that  their  beloved  "  hub  of  the  universe  " 
was  rated  as  in  a  foreign  land. 

Meanwhile,  on  the  "gallery"  gathered  the 
different  men-folk,  travellers,  or  of  the  house 
hold,  and  as  the  number  became  too  many  for 
the  chairs,  one  and  another  threw  himself  on  the 
ground  in  front,  basking,  so  to  speak,  in  the  full 
light  of  the  good-natured  moon. 

"  In  my  country,"  said  Hiram,  "  I  should  hardly 
dare  to  sit  out  in  the  evening  air,  as  we  are  sit 
ting  now,  though  it  were  the  middle  of  August. 
And  this  is  only  the  first  day  of  May." 

One  of  the  young  Texans  replied  that  there 
had  not  been  five  nights  since  New-year  when 
he  would  not  willingly  have  slept  on  the  ground 
there,  wrapped  in  a  blanket,  so  little  risk  was 
there  from  the  dews. 

"No  dews,  and  no  rain,"  said  Hiram,  "then 
what  is  it  which  keeps  the  prairies  green  ?  " 

But   this   was   what   no  one  could  well  tell. 


172 


WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


They  said  it  was  three  months  since  there  had 
been  any  rain-fall  of  consequence.  Indeed,  they 
said  their  springs  were  low  and  their  crops 
suffering.  Yet,  as  the  travellers  had  seen,  the 
prairies  were  as  green  as  a  mowing  lot  in 
Massachusetts  would  be  a  month  later  in  the 
year. 

All  that  anybody  could  say  was,  that  the  roots 
of  the  prairie  grass  were  very  long.  This  mes- 
quit  grass,  for  instance,  which  is  such  a  blessing 
to  man  and  beast,  throws  down  its  root  three  feet 
below  the  surface. 

And  then,  in  the  midst  of  this  geoponic  lore, 
a  long  wagon  drove  by,  with  extemporized  seats 
for  eight  or  ten  people,  and  they  sang  as  they 
rode. 


No  -  bod-y  knows  the  trouble  I've  had,     No-bod-y  knows  but 


c  r  r 


Je  -  sus.  No- 


bod-y  knows  the      trou-ble   I've    had, 


Glo  -  ry,     hal  -  le  -  lu ! 


I      felt      the      bur  -  den   of 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


1/3 


H-H-r  rrrr^frrrlXI 


dead  -  ly   sin,        Oh,      yes,     Lord!      He    opened  his  door  and.  he 


1 


£ 


let      me 


Oh, 


Lord! 


"  They  are  going  home  from  the  camp-meeting 
at  the  corners,"  said  Tremlett  in  explanation. 
One  and  another  of  the  singers  waved  a  hand  as 
they  went  by.  But  the  carriage  did  not  stop.  As 
it  receded  upon  the  prairie,  successive  verses  of 
the  song  could  be  heard,  less  and  less  distinct, 
as  the  distance  increased. 

Nobody  knows  the  trouble  I've  had, 

Nobody  knows  but  Jesus. 

Nobody  knows  the  trouble  I've  had, 

Glory,  hallelu  ! 

I  fell  on  the  ground  and  I  kissed  his  feet,  Oh,  yes,  Lord  ! 

And  he  lifted  me  up  with  his  smile  so  sweet,  Oh,  yes,  Lord ! 

Nobody  knows  the  trouble  I've  had, 

Nobody  knows  but  Jesus. 

Nobody  knows  the  trouble  I've  had, 

Glory,  hallelu ! 

I  took  his  hand  and  I  held  it  fast,  Oh,  yes,  Lord  ! 

And  I  will  hold  it  to  the  last,  Oh,  yes,  Lord  ! 

Nobody  knows  the  trouble  I've  had, 
Nobody  knows  but  Jesus. 
Nobody  knows  the  trouble  I've  had, 
Glory,  hallelu  ! 


174  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

I  took  his  crown  when  his  temples  bled,  Oh,  yes,  Lord  ! 
For  I  heard  the  gracious  words  he  said,  Oh,  yes,  Lord ! 

Nobody  knows  the  trouble  I've  had, 

Nobody  knows  but  Jesus. 

Nobody  knows  the  trouble  I've  had, 

Glory,  hallelu  ! 

Oh,  take  my  burden,  and  bear  my  yoke,  Oh,  yes,  Lord  ! 

These  were  the  gracious  words  he  spoke,  Oh,  yes,  Lord  ! 

And,  after  this,  it  was  impossible  to  follow  the 
verses. 

The  young  gentlemen  took  the  song  as  a  con 
secration  of  to-night,  and  broke  up  the  little  bi 
vouac  to  try  the  comforts,  hardly  so  attractive,  of 
Mrs.  Tremlett's  bedrooms. 


OF  A   PULLMAN. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

morning  came,  it  proved  that  a 
"Norther"  had  struck  them  in  the 
night.  But  it  was  a  very  gentle  "  Norther  " 
compared  with  what  they  had  all  read  about  in 
Mr.  Olmsted's  book,  and  in  the  adventures  of 
Phil  Nolan's  friends,  which,  just  at  this  moment 
was  working  along  in  Scribner's  Magazine.  All 
the  hurt  it  had  done  anybody  was,  that  every 
body  had  wakened  at  four  o'clock,  and  had  pulled 
up  his  bedquilt.  Blankets  appeared  to  be  un 
known  at  the  Tremlett's.  But,  in  a  cotton-grow 
ing  country,  quilts  are  quite  as  thick  as  any 
traveller  will  require. 

When  breakfast  was  ended,  and  the  ambu 
lance  came  round,  it  proved  that  Fred  Haydock 
had  bought  a  side-saddle  from  Tremlett ;  that 
Fred's  own  saddle  was  fastened  behind  the  am 
bulance.  So  Hester  very  prettily  yielded  to 
Fred's  eager  request  that  for  the  first  hour  she 
would  ride  on  horseback  with  him. 


176  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

Was  not  it  kind  in  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  to  let 
her  take  his  horse,  while  he  jolted  in  the  am 
bulance  ? 

And  Fred  and  Hester  were  able  to  go  back  to 
that  first  ride,  so  long  ago,  in  the  darkness  of 
Arcadie ! 

Then,  after  an  hour,  they  took  the  ambulance 
and  Effie  and  Hiram  rode  in  their  turn.  Just  as 
they  mounted,  Dustin  pointed  to  the  southwest 
ern  horizon. 

"  A  drove  of  cattle,  Mrs.  Abgar." 

And  over  the  slope,  three  or  four  miles  away, 
Effie  made  out  a  long  line  of  ants  creeping  in 
line  of  battle. 

But  in  half  an  hour  the  travellers  had  neared 
the  ants  and  the  ants  the  travellers.  The  ants 
were  an  army,  half  a  mile  from  flank  to  flank,  of 
beautiful  cattle.  Oh,  how  Juno,  or  Minerva,  or 
Aphrodite  would  have  quarrelled  for  those  white 
ones !  Black,  white,  red,  brown,  gray,  mauve, 
ashes  of  roses,  salmon  color,  pink,  mottled  and 
pied  —  no  two  oxen  alike  —  but  all  with  a  look 
not  so  strange,  both  of  gentleness  and  vigor. 
They  plodded  amiably  along ;  they  cropped  the 
grass  as  if  they  had  been  pet  lambs,  or,  if  they 
had  loitered  too  long,  they  galloped  when  they 
were  touched  up  by  impatient  drivers. 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  177 

The  drivers  —  wild  bandit-looking  men,  with 
Mexican  hats,  and  queer  buckskin  leggings  — 
rode  from  end  to  end  of  the  troop,  almost  at 
right  angles  with  its  line  of  march  to  be  sure 
that  no  ox  strayed  behind.  And  so,  in  solemn 
procession,  the  twenty  hecatombs  of  oxen  were 
to  march  a  thousand  miles,  from  day  to  day,  till 
they  should  ascend,  not  a  sacrificial  altar,  but 
the  trains  of  cars  which  should  .bear  them  to 
distant  Brighton. 

"  You  might  tie  a  letter  for  your  husband  on 
the  horn  of  that  lovely  white  one,  and  he  might 
find  it  at  his  butcher's,  if  he  were  romantic 
enough  to  ask  for  Texan  beef." 

So  said  Hiram  Brinkerhoff,  laughing.  But 
even  in  the  motion  of  the  horses  he  could  see 
that  Mrs.  Abgar  started.  What  had  he  said  ? 

She  asked  him,  — coldly  was  it?  — or  with 
what  tone  ?  — 

"  I  do  not  understand  you." 
"  I  say,"  said  Hiram,  red  in  the  face,  "that  you 
could  make  the  cattle  your  mail-carriers  to  your 
husband— to  Mr.  Abgar." 

"  Why,  Mr.  Brinkerhoff,  I  beg  your  pardon ;  it 
is  all  over  now,  but  you  surprised  me.  My  hus 
band  has  been  in  heaven  many  years.  I  never 
had  a  husband  but  for  one  happy  month.  Peo- 


12 


WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


pie  say  it  was  too  happy,  but  I  do  not  think  so." 
And  she  smiled  with  that  beautiful  sad  smile. 

Hiram  Brinkerhoff  was  still  crimsoned.  "  Dear 
Mrs.  Abgar,  pardon  me.  You  know  !  I  am  sure 
you  know  I  would  not  have  pained  you.  But  !  — 
Well  !  —  You  do  not  see  !  —  But  you  have  spoken 
so  much  of  Mr.  Abgar,  of  Phil,  you  call  him  —  I 
supposed  —  Mr.  Haydock  supposed  —  " 

"  Dear  old  Phil  !  yes,"  said  Mrs.  Abgar^  her 
face  not  losing  its  sweetness.  "Where  should 
I  have  been  but  for  him  ?  He  is  my  husband's 
older  brother.  But  dear  old  Phil  has  a  very 
charming  wife  of  his  own,  and  such  lovely  chil 
dren  !  I  thought  I  showed  you  their  pictures." 

Yes,  she  had  showed  their  pictures,  and  had 
said  they  were  her  nephews  and  nieces,  but  she 
had  not  said  that  they  were  Phil's  children. 

It  was  queer:  they  could  not  justify  it  to 
themselves,  nor  in  any  way  explain  it.  But  there 
is  no  doubt  that  after  this  contretemps  and  ex 
planation  neither  of  the  two  cared  to  go  on  with 
the  other,  just  then,  in  just  the  easy  and  confi 
dential  way  in  which  they  had  ridden  before.  As 
soon  as  Mrs.  Abgar's  hour  was  ended  she  said 
she  was  a  little  tired,  and  she  resumed  her  seat 
in  the  ambulance.  Fred's  horse  was  fastened 
behind,  and  Fred  took  the  vacant  seat  by  Dustin. 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  179 

But  Hiram  Brinkerhoff  did  not  propose  to  drive 
in  Dustin's  place,  as  he  might  have  done,  and 
they  kept  on,  a  broken  party,  till  they  came  to 
Braunfels. 

Dustin  at  one  moment  pointed  forward  with 
his  whip  to  a  great  yellow  square  patch  of — who 
should  say  how  many  acres  ?  on  a  distant  swell. 

"  Have  they  such  wheat  as  that  in  your  coun 
try,  Mrs.  Abgar  ? " 

Effie  liked  to  hear  him  talk  about  the  wonders 
of  Texas. 

"  No,  indeed,"  said  she.  "  We  have  no  wheat 
in  my  country.  But,  Mr.  Dustin,  not  even  in 
Texas,  I  think,  is  wheat  as  yellow  as  that  on  the 
second  day  of  May." 

"  Sure  enough,  mum,  sure  enough  !  It  must 
be  flowers,  mum  !  " 

And  so  it  proved,  when,  after  an  hour's  riding, 
they  passed  through  this  yellow  patch,  and  found 
themselves  surrounded  by  forty  acres  of  coreopsis 
in  full  bloom ! 

But  Dustin  had  his  revenge  upon  Effie,  as  she 
was  frank  enough  to  confess  to  him.  She  had 
made  a  sketch,  involving  one  of  these  sweeps  of 
tremendous  distance,  and  she  had  written  in  on 
it  for  use,  if  she  could  ever  put  it  in  color,  across 
a  little  bit  of  her  middle  distance,  "little  pond 


I  So  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

quite  as  blue  as  sky."  When  they  rode  on  and 
passed  through  the  "pond"  it  proved  to  be  a 
giant's  patch  of  blue  verbenas  ! 

The  exquisite,  clear  spring  of  the  San  Marcos 
River  is  a  natural  curiosity  which  all  travellers 
must  stop  to  wonder  at.  San  Marcos  itself  was 
a  wonder  to  them,  because  it  was  their  first  town 
after  they  had  left  Austin.  Then  Braunfels  with 
its  quaint  German  look,  mixed  in  with  southern 
traits,  and  unmistakable  Americanisms,  would 
have  been  an  interesting  place  to  stay  in.  But, 
no !  they  held  on  to  their  journey's  end  this  time; 
and  at  last,  when  they  were  well  tired,  they  came 
to  the  point  where  Will  Harrod  bade  good-by  to 
Inez  Perry,  and  so  through  fresh  mesquit  trees 
dashed  on  till  they  saw  all  the  crosses  and  spires 
of  San  Antonio.  Does  any  one,  .by  good  luck, 
know  who  Will  Harrod  and  Inez  Perry  were  ? 

And  in  San  Antonio  they  found  all  that  they 
had  come  for.  First  of  all,  in  the  Menger  House, 
so  neat  and  comfortable  a  home.  Then,  when 
they  had  washed  and  rested,  such  a  funny  walk, 
where  no  one  knew  an  inch  of  the  way.  Wher 
ever  they  went  they  came  to  the  river, — and  a 
river  "as  is  a  river,"  —  so  active,  so  deep,  so 
green,  so  satisfactory  every  way.  "  What  funny 
little  bathing  houses  !  can  people  bathe  in  May  ? " 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  l8l 

It  seemed  as  if  every  garden  ran  to  the  river  and 
as  if  everybody  had  a  bathing  house  in  his  gar 
den  of  his  own. 

None  of  them  had  ever  been  in  Spain.  But 
they  supposed,  and  were  perhaps  right,  that  San 
Antonio  looked  like  a  little  city  in  Spain,  with 
these  narrow  streets  sometimes  made  to  give 
shade  in  summer,  and  with  these  white  walls 
almost  windowless,  which  make  the  sides  of  the 
streets. 

Yet  sometimes  they  came  to  a  distinctive  Swiss 
cottage,  and  sometimes  it  was  the  legitimate 
Southern  house  with  its  broad  gallery.  Still 
Spain  preponderated.  And  the  Spanish  talk  in 
the  streets  preponderated  over  the  German  and 
the  English.  And  when  the  four  stood  in  either 
of  the"  squares,  the  Military  Plaza,  or  the  Cathe 
dral  Plaza,  or  the  Alamo  Plaza,  it  was  impossible 
to  believe  they  were  in  their  own  land. 

A  lovely  sunset  and  a  short  evening  before 
sweet  sleep  avenged  and  rubbed  away  the  fa 
tigue  of  eighty  miles'  drive  across  the  prairies. 


1 82  WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

HPHE  ladies  slept  in  the  same  room.  In  the 
confidences  of  the  toilet,  night  and  morning, 
Hester  told  Effie,  yes,  of  fifty  things  which  she 
and  Fred  had  agreed  upon  in  the  long  talks  of 
the  day  and  evening  before.  But  Effie  —  she 
did  not  know  why,  though  she  made  up  her 
mind  to  it  two  or  three  times  —  did  not  tell 
Hester  of  the  mistake  of  Mr.  Brinkerhoff  and  of 
her  discovery  of  it,  and  of  the  foolish  way  in 
which  for  the  moment  it  had  disturbed  her.  Mrs. 
Abgar  did  not  need  to  take  the  trouble,  for,  the 
night  before,  Fred  Haydock  had  told  Hester 
Sutphen  the  whole  of  it.  And  Hester  could  not 
conceive  how  or  why  the  two  men  should  have 
been  mistaken. 

There  had  been  some  hitch  about  the  expected 
letters  the  night  before.  But  at  breakfast  the 
hitch  was  loosened,  and  the  great  stack  of  letters 
came  in.  To  the  gentlemen,  not  so  many.  To 
the  ladies,  galore.  And  over  cooling  mutton- 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  183 

chops,  and  coffee  which  was  cold  before  they 
were  done  they  read,  now  silent  and  now  aloud, 
with  ejaculations  of  surprise. 

After  the  ladies  had  finished  theirs,  Effie 
turned  to  Mr.  Brinkerhoff,  resolved  to  show  that 
the  stiffness  of  a  minute  of  yesterday  should  not 
last. 

"And  what  are  your  letters  ? "  she  said.  "  You 
have  better  luck  than  Fred  has,"  — for  by  this 
time  Fred  had  insisted  that  they  should  not 
call  him  Mr.  Haydock. 

"  Oh  !  mine  are  all  business,  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
except  this  from  my  mother.  She  has  sent  me 
her  picture,  which  she  has  just  had  taken  at 
Meserve's.  It  is  not  nearly  good  enough,"  he 
added,  fondly,  as  he  gave  it  to  Mrs.  Abgar 
to  look  upon. 

"  It  is  perfectly  lovely,"  said  she,  frankly,  and 
with  an  artist's  pleasure.  "  So  friendly,  and  so 
young." 

"  But  why  does  not  Amy  write  to  you  ? "  said 
Hester  Sutphen,  beginning  to  take  advantage  of 
the  newly  born  intimacies.  "  Is  not  there  a  word 
from  Amy  ? " 

Hiram  Brinkerhoff  looked  puzzled,  was  puzzled. 

"  Why,  this  is  '  Amy/  "  said  he,  at  last.  "  It 
seems  foolish  to  you,  but  I  do  not  know,  when  I 


1 84  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

did  not  call  my  mother  '  Amy/  My  father  liked 
it.  She  liked  it.  And  I  am  sure  I  liked  it. 
It  was  a  trick  of  a  baby,  and  I  never  grew  out  of 
it  when  I  was  a  man." 

The  girls  would  have  given  gold  if  they  could 
have  kept  their  faces  unchanged.  But  they 
knew  that  blood  flushed  them.  With  the  resolu 
tion  of  martyrs  at  the  stake  they  looked  neither 
to  the  right  nor  to  the  left.  Effie  Abgar  said 
nothing  —  had  nothing  to  say.  But  the  recollec 
tion  of  speculations  and  discussions  about  what 
manner  of  woman  Amy  was  would  come  back, 
even  in  that  moment.  Hester,  because  she  was 
the  interlocutor,  forced  herself  to  say,  — 

"  Why,  we  took  it  for  granted  you  were  mar 
ried  ;  and,  for  one,  I  wondered  why  you  never 
said  a  word  about  your  wife!" 

With  this  bold  speech  the  conversation  dropped 
for  a  moment.  Fred  Haydock  would  have  given 
his  hot  omelette  if  he  could  have  thought  of  any 
thing  to  say,  but  he  could  not.  The  pause  was 
but  for  an  instant,  when  Tom  Dustin  came  in  to 
ask  if  they  would  ride. 

Yes,  they  would  ride.  And  he  need  not  drive 
them.  Mr.  Haydock  would  drive.  And  each  of 
the  four  said  to  himself  or  herself  that  the  botch 
about  Amy  was  over,  and  that  it  made  no  sort  of 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  185 

difference.  And  they  ran  up  those  queer  stair 
ways  to  their  rooms  round  that  Moorish  court 
yard,  all  saying  to  themselves,  "It  was  all  non 
sense,  and  will  make  no  difference."  And  when 
the  girls  came  into  their  own  room  Hester  kissed 
Effie  and  said,  — 

"  Did  you  think  I  was  such  a  perfect  fool  ? 
For  I  did  not  till  this  morning." 

"We  were  all  fools  for  a  tenth  part  of  a 
second,"  said  Effie.  "  But  it  will  make  no 
difference  now." 

Still,  in  her  heart  she  felt  it  would  make  a 
difference.  She  understood  in  her  heart  of 
hearts,  that  she  and  this  loyal,  frank,  thoughtful, 
experienced  gentleman  had  been  living  together 
for  many  days,  and  she,  for  one,  thinking  much 
of  him  in  other  days,  when  they  were  not 
together,  with  an  ease  and  a  simplicity  which 
would  have  been  just  possible,  perhaps,  had 
each  been  quite  well  informed  as  to  the  other, 
but  to  which,  after  these  two  blunders,  it  would 
be  very  hard  to  return. 

Hiram  Brinkerhoff  had  had  nearly  twenty-four 
hours  to  consider  another  question.  And  Hiram 
Brinkerhoff  was  well  aware,  by  this  time,  that 
with  this  lovely,  conscientious,  unselfish  woman, 
so  kind  and  affectionate,  so  quick  of  observation, 


1 86          WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

but  so  unconscious  of  her  own  quickness  and 
tenderness,  he  did  not  want  to  be  on  the  same 
calm,  reserved  or  unreserved  relation  in  which 
they  had  lived,  while  he  had  supposed  her  to 
be  a  married  woman,  resting  herself  from  the 
cares  of  housekeeping,  while  she  played  the 
matron  for  her  friend.  But  Hiram  Brinkerhoff 
knew  that  he  must  somehow  show  himself  worthy 
such  a  woman  if  he  would  win  her.  .  And  this, 
he  knew,  would  take  time. 

Of  the  four  he  was  perhaps  the  very  cheeriest 
of  all,  as  they  entered  the  ambulance.  But  it 
was  a  lovely  day.  They  were  to  see  if  they  had 
found  what  they  had  come  so  far  to  find  ;  and 
they  were  all  cheery. 

"  I  believe,"  he  said,  so  soon  as  all  were  seated, 
"  that  we  are  to  go  and  look  for  school-rooms  for 
Miss  Sutphen's  school.  I  have  in  my  pocket  a 
list  of  unoccupied  old  court-rooms  and  vestries 
of  churches.  Indeed,  if  she  will  pay  enough,  she 
may  have  an  old  corn  bin  in  the  corner  of  the 
Alamo,  which  the  government  has  been  storing 
some  musket-barrels  in." 

All  this  was  his  invention.  There  was  no 
such  bin,  nor  such  musket-barrels.  But  this 
must  be  said,  because  some  readers  are  dull. 

"  I  thank  you,"  said  Hester,  laughing.    "  But  I 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  1 87 

will  not  trouble  you  to  look  for  rooms  with  me. 
I  know  all  my  friends  may  not  stay  till  autumn. 
Let  us  go  out  to  one  of  the  Missions.  I  can 
confess  there,  and  receive  absolution,  which  I 
need.  Meanwhile  there  seem  to  be  enough 
children  here." 

The  multitude  of  children  in  the  streets  of  a 
city  in  which  there  is  no  system  of  general  school 
ing,  always  amazes  a  New  Englander. 

So  they  asked  their  way  here,  and  asked  it 
there  —  and  without  losing  it  more  than  twenty 
times,  they  came  to  one  of  the  "  Missions."  It 
was  not  the  one  they  started  for,  but  what  differ 
ence  did  that  make  ? 

A  great  ruined  church  —  a  ruin  as  satisfactory 
as  if  it  had  been  in  Morocco  or  Spain.  Big  dogs 
had  to  be  quelled  —  and  from  the  door  of  a  hovel 
came  out  a  pretty,  shy-looking  Mexican  girl  with 
an  immense  bunch  of  keys.  Yes,  there  is  a  con 
secrated  altar  still,  and  at  fit  times  there  is  wor 
ship  still.  But  who  worships,  it  would  be  hard 
to  say!  For  all  this  is  miles  away  from  the 
city.  But  this  was  once  the  active  centre  of 
one  of  those  colonies  of  reduced  Indians,  Indios 
reducidos,  which  the  Franciscans  managed  some 
how  to  convert  to  habits  of  peace.  Of  Christi 
anity  in  its  other  forms,  it  is  said  that  they 


1 88  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

knew  the  sign  of  the  cross  when  they  saw  it. 
And  I  am  afraid  they  knew  no  more !  Where 
are  they  now  ?  Quien  sabe  ? 

It  is  a  strangely  fascinating  place.  A  curious 
bit  of  careful  carving  here,  two  or  three  rough- 
hewn  rails  from  a  fence  there ;  a  pile  of  fallen 
stones,  a  crucifix  and  an  altar.  The  inquiring 
shy  Mexican  girl  —  the  inquiring  eager  New 
England  woman !  Are  the  two  of  the  same 
race,  and  were  they  born  into  the  same  world  ? 

There  are,  I  believe,  five  mission  buildings  in 
all.  You  might  see  two  or  three  in  a  day  ;  but 
our  travellers  were  in  no  hurry.  There  are 
wonders  in  the  city  as  well  —  the  archives  to  be 
hunted  through,  under  Mr.  Smith's  kind  help, 
for  rumors  about  Aaron  Burr  —  for  the  fate  of 
poor  Philip  Nolan  the  elder  —  and  in  the  hope 
of  a  trace  of  Inez  Perry  and  her  aunt  Eunice. 
No  end  of  thoughtful  and  kind  hospitalities  from 
the  gentlemen  of  the  army,  from  their  wives  and 
daughters,  whose  welcome  to  their  homes  made 
these  stray  travellers  feel  as  if  this  were  not 
a  bit  of  Spain,  not  a  scrap  from  Mexico  —  but 
that  all  that  had  been  a  dream,  and  they  were  all 
at  home. 

One  of  their  friends  took  them  to  the  head 
quarters,  and  here  they  were  most  cordially  wel- 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  189 

corned.  Here  they  saw  the  very  table  on  which 
General  Lee  signed  the  great  paper  of  capitula 
tion  at  Appomattox  Court  House.  "  Had  you 
ever  thought  they  had  marble-topped  tables  in 
such  places  ? "  And  here  were  gentlemen  who 
had  been  engaged  in  those  long  forced  marches. 
Ay !  and  ladies  who  had  .been  watching  and 
waiting  at  home  for  those  gentlemen.  It  was 
hearing  history,  indeed,  to  listen  to  the  anecdotes 
of  those  days. 

A  thousand  pretty  hospitalities,  a  thousand 
funny  adventures,  when  they  did  not  know 
whether  they  were  to  speak  German  or  Spanish, 
or  the  language  of  Pimos  or  Panis ;  loiterings  in 
gardens,  and  scampers  on  prairies,  —  took  up  the 
time,  and  would  have  taken  up  a  great  deal  more. 

Only  too  fast,  in  the  climate  of  paradise, 
slipped  by  the  fortnight  which  was  the  furlough 
which  the  young  men  had  granted  themselves. 

In  the  morning,  after  an  early  walk,  the  ladies 
would  paint  or  draw,  or  press  their  flowers,  or 
dissect  them,  or  sew  or  embroider,  and  the  gen 
tlemen  would  read  or  draw,  or  talk  at  their  sides. 

In  the  afternoon,  after  a  siesta,  all  four  would 
ride.  It  never  rained. 

Dear  reader,  if  you  have  a  friend,  who  is  a 
little  hectic,  —  who  begins  to  cough  ;  and  if  the 


WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


doctor  begins  to  talk  of  a  milder  climate  than 
that  of  Boston  or  Portland  or  Bangor,  —  think 
twice  before  you  send  him  or  her  whom  you 
love  across  the  waters.  While  you  are  think 
ing,  determine  whether  it  be  not  better  for  an 
invalid  to  stay  in  his  own  country.  Let  him 
go  to  San  Antonio,  said  to  be  the  most  healthy 
city  in  the  world.  Since  these  ladies  went,  a 
railroad  has  been  finished.  So  that  the  invalid 
need  not  leave  the  "  palace  "  till  he  arrive  at  his 
journey's  end.  And  there,  with  this  exquisite 
climate,  there  is  all  the  variety  of  two  or  three 
civilizations  ;  and,  best  of  all,  the  presence  of 
friends  who  make  him  feel  at  home. 

A  full  fortnight  after  our  party  arrived,  a  fort 
night  which  seemed  much  longer,  so  complete 
had  been  the  change  it  wrought  in  all  their 
habits  ;  —  a  fortnight  in  which  they  were  wonted 
to  fruit,  and  roses,  peas,  and  other  summer 
vegetables  ;  and,  rising  to  a  higher  plane,  to  a 
climate  without  a  touch  of  winter,  and  as  yet 
without  a  breath  of  summer  —  to  the  real  spring 
tide  of  poetry  —  a  full  fortnight  after  their  arrival 
they  made  a  merry  horseback  party,  with  some 
officers  of  the  garrison,  and  some  young  ladies 
who  were  now  near  friends  ;  and  of  this  party 
the  objective  was  "  The  Springs." 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  191 

The  copious  rush  of  the  green  waters  of  the  San 
Antonio  or  of  its  sister  river  always  makes  a  pic 
turesque  point  whenever,  in  riding  or  in  walk 
ing,  you  come  to  either  stream.  There  is  a  little 
i  watering-place,  perhaps  under  German  oversight, 
much  favored  by  the  people  who  have  leisure  for 
a  drive,  not  many  miles  out  of  the  town,  where, 
in  one  or  another  corner,  is  a  table  set  in  the 
open  air  —  where  a  bridge  here,  a  bank  of  willows 
or  mesquits  there,  give  resting-places  for  talk,  — 
and  where,  any  afternoon,  there  cluster  throngs 
of  children  —  and  of  grown-up  children,  too  — 
who  are  not  beyond  or  above  being  amused. 

As  it  happened,  on  this  particular  afternoon, 
as  the  different  members  of  the  party  strolled 
through  the  grounds  together,  Hiram  Brinkerhoff 
and  Effie  Abgar  stood  on  a  great  mass  of  rock, 
from  beneath  which  pours  out  a  stream  of  raging 
water,  as  the  fountain  of  Arethusa  may  be  sup 
posed  to  rush  forth  from  its  long  underground 
prison.  No  end  of  underground  waters  there. 
There  are  people  who  think  that  two-thirds  of 
the  rainfall  of  the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi  flows 
in  such  underground  currents  to  the  sea ! 

Frederic  Haydock  and  Hester  Sutphen  had 
disappeared.  They  were  lost,  as  one  is  apt  to 
be,  on  a  mesquit  grown  prairie,  and  as  they  had 
often  been  before. 


1 92  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

"  How  happy  they  are,"  said  Hiram,  when  Mrs. 
Abgar  had  said  she  wondered  where  they  would 
turn  up  this  time. 

"  Yes  indeed,"  was  her  answer  ;  "and  no  one 
deserves  happiness  more  than  she."  Her  eyes 
flashed  as  she  praised  her  friend.  "  You  will  say 
so,  when  you  know  her  as  I  do.  She  has  never 
sought  happiness,  since  she  gave  me  the  biggest 
half  of  her  stick  of  barley  candy.  She  has  never 
grumbled,  but  in  fun.  She  has  been  her  mother's 
blessing ;  where,  indeed,  any  of  us  would  have 
been  but  for  her,  I  do  not  know.  And,  he  ?  I 
hope  he  is  as  true  as  he  seems  ? "  This  with  an 
eager  question. 

"  Never  fear  for  him,"  said  Hiram,  boldly. 
"  Truer  heart  never  beat,  under  breastplate  or 
under  muslin.  I  am  glad  to  see  how  she  loves 
him  —  but  she  cannot  love  that  man  too  well. 
He  is  as  gentle  as  he  is  true,  and  he  is  as  true 
as  he  is  brave." 

And  Hiram  looked  as  handsome  as  Amadis 
himself  as  he  blazed  up  for  his  friend.  Both  of 
them  were  silent  for  a  moment  —  silent  from  the 
very  emotion  of  pride  with  which  they  had 
spoken  —  silent  as  well,  be  it  added,  because 
each  was  so  glad  to  speak  to  somebody  who 
could  respect  such  enthusiasm.  The  man  took 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  IQ3 

courage  first  to  break  a  silence  which  each  en 
joyed. 

"  I  must  leave  this  paradise  to-morrow,"  he 
said,  and  he  faltered  a  moment,  "where  I,  too, 
have  been  happier  than  I  have  ever  been  in  my 
life.  I  must  go  to  my  work  again,  for  I  too  have 
something  to  do  in  life  besides  studying  how  I 
shall  be  happy.  But  I  will  not  go  till  I  have  told 
you,  what  I  think  you  know,  how  you  are  every 
thing  to  me ;  and  that,  in  the  month  since  I  met 
you  so  happily,  I  have  been  more,  seen  more, 
known  more,  and  hoped  more  than  in  all  my  life 
before.  May  I  tell  Amy  that,"  and  he  smiled, 
half  sadly,  "  and  may  I  ask  her  to  write  to  you 
and  beg  you  to  make  me  perfectly  happy  ?  There 
is  a  sweetheart  who  will  never  be  jealous  of  you." 
And  he  smiled  with  that  serious  smile  again. 

No !     She  was  not  startled. 

"  My  dear  Mr.  Brinkerhoff,  you,  see  in  me  what 
is  not  here.  But  I  do  not  think  that  matters  — 
I  never  thought  I  should  stand  where  I  stand  — 
no,  nor  that  I  should  say  what  I  say.  But — I 
should  be  very  unwomanly — and  very  mean  — 
if  I  did  not  say  —  as  soon  as  I  can  find  any 
words  —  that  —  that  I  should  be  very  wretched, 
if  I  thought  I  must  go  back  to  the  East  alone!" 

It  was  a  blundering  answer.  But  it  served  her 
13 


IQ4  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

turn  and  his.  He  flung  his  arm  around  her  and 
kissed  her,  and  led  her  by  some  mysterious  by 
way  to  the  gate-way  of  "  the  Springs."  He  found 
their  horses,  without  calling  on  any  of  the  rest  of 
the  party,  and  they  rode  home  before  the  rest  of 
the  party. 

Perhaps  the  army  gentlemen  thought  that  the 
New  Englanders  had  very  queer  ways  when  they 
went  on  riding  parties.  If  they  did,  they  were 
unjust  to  the  New  Englanders ;  for  neither 
Mr.  Haydock  the  "  carpet-bagger,"  nor  Mr. 
Brinkerhoff  the  "drummer,"  hailed  from  New 
England. 

These  gentlemen  made  all  right  that  evening. 
At  Mrs.  Gen.  McLain's  elegant  party,  no  men 
were  more  attentive  and  courteous  to  all  the 
guests  than  Mr.  Haydock  and  his  friend.  Nor 
did  the  ladies  lack  attention,  because  the  gen 
tlemen  of  their  personal  escort  left  them  mostly  to 
the  care  of  the  gentlemen  who  were  more  at 
home. 

As  one  of  the  groups  gathered  round  the 
piano,  —  in  illustration  of  some  story,  Lieutenant 
Laudonniere  sang  a  little  song  in  honor  of 
Texas  which  he  said  a  Spanish  bishop,  Don 
Diego  Marin,  wrote  when  Texas  was  yet  a 
wilderness. 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  195 

Dios  te  salve,  tierra  de  Texas, 
Do  Natura,  con  hermosuras 
Antes  no  conocidas  se  mostrd  : 

Aqui  la  mano  divina 

Que  todo  lo  ordena, 
Con  mas  complacencia  se  paro. 

El  llano  de  tus  verdes  prados, 
De  mil  colores  esmaltados, 

Con  la  quietud  del  vasto  mar 

Y  horizonte  inmenso 

Se  revela  estenso 
Ouando  se  ve  el  sol  rayar. 

Entre  mil  naranjos  floridos, 

Que  se  desmayen  mis  sentidos,  — 

Quiero  mis  'lores  olvidar, 

E  ya  no  Prelado, 

E  dormir  sepultadc 
En  atmosfera  de  Azaar. 

Every  one  was  delighted.  "Only  we  do  not 
understand  the  Spanish,"  said  Mrs.  Abgar.  " '  Mil 
colores'  I  can  well  make  out,  and  'naranjos,'  — 
but  then  I  break  down." 

"  Then  I  will  try  again,"  said  the  Lieutenant, 
and  he  sang  his  little  translation : 

Fair  land  of  Texas,  Heaven  save  thee, 
Nature  her  choicest  blessings  gave  thee 
And  beauty  all  unknown  before  ! 
The  all  creating  Word 
Thy  loveliness  preferred, 
Pronounced  it  good,  and  gave  one  blessing  more  ! 


1 96  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

Enamelled  plains  so  far  extending, 
A  thousand  rival  colors  blending, 
Stretch  out  as  broadly  as  the  lonely  sea : 
When  the  first  sunbeams  shine 
On  its  horizon  line, 
To  show  how  wide  and  lovely  earth  can  be. 

Thine  orange  breezes  gently  blowing 
Sweep  all  away  the  plague  of  knowing, 
I  lay  my  Bishop's  grandeur  gladly  by, 
Beneath  thy  fragrant  trees, 
Enjoy  the  scented  breeze, 
And  let  these  cares  in  thy  Elysium  die. 

In  the  hearty  applause  which  followed  the  un 
expected  version,  our  four  friends  looked  sympa 
thetically,  each  on  other,  as  if  this  dear  old 
Bishop  had  sung  for  them  what  they  would  be 
glad  for  themselves  to  say. 

Hester  broke  the  silence  to  thank  the  Lieuten 
ant.  "  You  have  given  Mrs.  Abgar  all  she 
needed  to  complete  her  song-book." 

"  All  ?  —  What  is  that  ? "  he  asked  laughing. 

"  Oh !  Mrs.  Abgar  is  only  a  Boston  cockney, 
you  know.  She  never  dreamed  of  what  her  own 
country  was,  —  one  out  of  many.  But  now  she 
has  picked  up,  in  a  month's  time,  from  the  lips  of" 
her  own  countrymen  :  — 

"  First,  a  Pennsylvania!!  song,  then  a  Chippe- 
way  song." 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  1 97 

"  And  a  German  and  a  French,"  interrupted 
Fred  Haydock. 

"  Don't  forget  the  negro  song,  and  our  Texan 
Methodist  song,"  said  Effie. 

"  No  !  no  !  and  there  is  a  Norwegian  song,  and 
an  Italian  song,  Lieutenant  Laudonniere,  and 
now  you  give  her  a  Spanish  song,  —  all  sung  by 
her  own  countrymen." 

"  Let  Mrs.  Abgar  stay  only  a  few  weeks  longer, 
and  she  shall  hear  a  Mexican  ranchero,  a  Caman- 
che  chief,  a  Greek  Vivandiere,  and  an  Arab 
Sheikh,  if  I  can  find  one  of  the  camel  drivers," 
said  he.  "  They  are  all  her  countrymen,  but  I 
hope  she  would,  all  the  same,  be  at  home." 

"Indeed,  I  should  be,"  said  Effie  frankly. 
"And  yet,  do  you  know,  Dustin,  the  good- 
natured  fellow  who  drove  our  ambulance,  would 
gladly  have  persuaded  us  to  go  as  much  farther, 
still  in  our  own  country,  as  we  have  come." 

"  Yes,"  said  Haydock,  laughing,  "  I  overheard 
him.  'Just  as  well  go  on  to  Chihuahua,  Mrs. 
Abgar,  only  five  hundred  miles,  this  team  take 
you  easy  in  thirty  days.  Just  as  well  go  on  to 
Fort  Yuma,  —  only  six  hundred  miles  more, —  this 
team  take  you  easy.  And  then,  Mrs.  Abgar, 
nothing  to  go  to  San  Frisky.  Ever  been  to  San 
Frisky,  Mrs.  Abgar  ?  ever  been  there,  Miss  Sut- 
phen  ? '  These  were  the  words  he  said." 


198  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

They  all  laughed.  "  But  we  are  too  much  at 
home  here,"  said  Effie,  "  though  now  we  must 
say  good-night  to  Mrs.  McLain." 

But  here  came,  indeed,  the  end  of  this  story. 
Not  but  the  ladies  spent  the  foreordained  month 
in  San  Antonio.  But  the  gentlemen  left  them 
the  morning  after  Gen.  McLain's  party,  one  to 
his  office  and  the  other  to  his  merchandise.  But 
when  the  end  of  May  came  — after  Effie  and 
Hester  had  had  the  charming  month  of  rest 
and  of  paradise  which  they  went  for ;  had  read 
and  sung,  and  drawn  and  painted  —  had  picked 
.flowers,  and  pressed  them  and  analyzed  them  — 
had  talked,  and  slept,  and  dreamed  to  their 
heart's  content  —  then  their  two  fellow-travellers 
appeared  again,  knowing  that  they  were  ready  to 
go  back  to  other  strawberries  and  to  other 
cream. 

"  There  is  one  more  lion,"  said  Mrs.  Abgar  to 
one  of  their  hosts  as  he  called  on  the  last  even 
ing  "  which  I  shall  ask  you  to  take  me  to  see. 
I'm  sure  there's  a  market  here,  —  no,  I  don't 
mean  a  butcher's  shop,  a  market  in  the  open  air. 
I  always  make  Hester  go  to  the  markets  with  me. 
We  have  tried  it  here,  but  not  before  breakfast." 

And  so  she  had  in  every  southwestern  town 
where  they  had  spent  any  time ;  and  though 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  IQ9 

sometimes  they  were  not  all  her  fancy  painted, 
they  were  generally  a  great  deal  better. 

Neither  Hiram  nor  Fred  knew  about  the  San 
Antonio  market.  But  Mr.  La  Tour  said  very 
readily  that  he  did  know  ;  and,  at  half-past  six  in 
the  morning  of  their  last  day,  he  knocked  at 
their  parlor  door,  and  led  them  out  of  their 
dear  Menger  House,  through  the  Alamo  Plaza, 
and  into  the  town  beyond.  "We're  going  to 
the  Military  Plaza,"  he  said. 

"A  Plaza  isn't  such  a  mysterious  thing,  after 
all,"  said  Hester,  looking  back  at  the  gloomy 
beautiful  Alamo,  across  a  wide  expanse  of  gravel 
and  dust.  "  It  will  be  a  good  word  to  astonish 
them  with  at  home,  but  the  more  familiar  Square 
describes  it  as  well  for  us." 

"  No,  indeed  !  "  cried  Effie..  "  Squares  aren't 
as  large." 

"  A  Plaza  was  a  Plaza  once,"  said  Mr.  La  Tour. 
"  When  you  saw  a  little  army  drawn  up  in  the 
Military  Plaza,  where  we  are  going ;  or  when  the 
Greasers,  as  you  call  them,  were  beating  through 
the  Alamo  gates  behind  us,  —  then  Miss  Sut- 
phen  would  have  found  it  Spanish  enough," 

Spanish  enough  they  did  find  it,  when,  at  the 
end  of  their  walk,  they  came  out  into  the  great 
open  space  crowded  with  ox-carts,  mule-carts, 


200  WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES 

saddled  horses,  and  buyers  and  sellers.  The 
brown  Mexicans  with  stiff  black  hair  under  those 
felt  sombreros,  so  dear  to  Effie's  heart,  with 
actually  leathern  straps  to  keep  them  on,  like 
little  boys ;  light  cotton  shirts,  red-topped  boots, 
or  leathern  leggings,  and  an  occasional  crimson 
silk  scarf  round  the  waist,  or  a  gay  handkerchief 
about  the  neck,  —  such  figures  as  these,  with 
melancholy  brown  faces,  as  much  Indian  as 
Spanish,  were  quite  as  delightful  as  the  ideal 
Texan  herdsmen,  though  they  were  not  at  all 
the  same  thing.  And  the  women  were  a  new 
revelation  of  the  possible  beauty  of  the  arrange 
ment  of  a  shawl  over  the  head  ;  though  our 
travellers  wished  that  their  Moorish  reserve 
didn't  sometimes  make  them  hold  it  over  the 
lower  part  of  the  face.  Such  people  as  these 
they  had  often  seen  before  in  "San  Antone," 
especially  in  Chihuahua,  as  they  call  the  Mexican 
quarter ;  but  never  so  many  together,  and  never 
under  such  delightful  circumstances.  There  was 
a  little  boy  struggling  with  a  lively  cock  which 
he  had  bought  against  its  will;  there  were  women 
selling  the  brightest  of  green  and  red  vegetables  ; 
there  —  but  Mr.  La  Tour  was  pointing  out  one 
group,  the  most  Mexican  of  all.  One  of  the 
women  was  sitting  on  the  ground  with  a  great 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  2OI 

three-legged  black  iron  pot  before  her  ;  there  was 
no  fire  visible,  but '  she  was  taking  out  and  dis 
tributing  some  kmd  of  hot  breakfast,  which  her 
friends  were  eating  at  a  table  with  a  white  cloth 
close  by.  One  or  two  preferred  squatting  on 
the  ground ;  her  little  daughter,  in  her  gray  veil, 
was  handing  round  cups  of  coffee.  Behind,  were 
the  strong  light  ox-carts  which  carry  cotton  to 
Mexico,  of  which  some  of  the  guests  were 
probably  drivers ;  farther  back  still,  were  the 
low,  white,  stucco  Spanish  houses  of  the  square. 
Effie's  sketch  of  part  of  all  this  was  interrupted 
by  Mr.  La  Tour's  bringing  her  some  of  the  con 
tents  of  the  pot :  this  was  a  little  bundle,  wrapped 
in  a  soft  and  thin  corn-husk  in  which  it  had  been 
cooked.  Inside  was  Indian  meal  and  red  pepper 
and  mince-meat ;  and,  strange  to  say,  it  was  very 
nice!  It  made  Effie's  breakfast'  that  day. 

"  The  meal  for  this  must  be  ground  by  hand/' 
said  Mr.  La  Tour,  and  he  led  them  into  a  pawn 
broker's  shop  close  by,  where  they  saw  low  stone 
three-legged  stools,  with  other  stones  upon  them  ; 
and  these,  they  were  told,  were  mills,  at  which 
two  women  ground,  almost  as  they  did  in  Pales 
tine.  All  sorts  of  other  interesting  things  were 
in  this  shop  ;  gay  worsted  hat-bands,  saddles, 
whips,  silver  jewelry,  every  thing  in  fact  which 


202  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

a  Mexican  can  pawn  to  pay  his  gambling  debts  ; 
and  unfortunately  of  these  there  are  too  many. 

On  the  way  home,  before  they  crossed  the 
pretty  bridges  over  the  deep  blue  river,  —  they 
thought  no  Swiss  lake  could  be  bluer,  —  on 
the  way  home,  they  stopped  at  another  shop, 
where  they  could  get  chocolate,  and  graceful 
earthen  water-coolers,  and  tremendous  whips 
to  carry  home  with  them  for  the  boys,  and 
Mexican  tobacco  for  the  gentlemen  ("the  only 
good  thing  the  Greasers  do  make"  said  Tom 
Dustin),  and  high  colored  hat-bands  for  Phil 
Abgar's  boys,  —  and,  indeed,  "no  end"  of  quaint 
half -savage  tokens.  They  asked  in  vain  for 
long  gfay  silk  shawls  which  the  brown  women 
wore ;  though  they  saw  them  directly  after 
wards  in  the  street ;  their  wearers  were  carrying 
great  wooden  cages  of  little  birds,  and  offered 
them  to  the  ladies  with  mysterious  smiles.  The 
Mexicans  were  almost  the  only  women  to  be 
seen  on  foot  in  the  streets.  Hester  had  been 
out  alone  once  walking  •,  and,  though  no  one  was 
rude  to  her,  she  had  not  been  sorry  to  rejoin  her 
own  sex :  the  solitude  in  company  was  as  shock 
ing  as  Alexander  Selkirk  found  the  tameness  of 
the  beasts.  This  was  Spanish  too. 

Little   appetite,  after   the  nameless  morning 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  203 

cakes,  for  the  nice  Menger  House  breakfast. 
And  then  when  the  last  good-byes  were  spoken, 
Dustin  having  been  summoned  once  more,  they 
started  to  cross '  the  prairie  to  Austin.  This 
time  no  brigands  frightened  them.  They  arrived 
just  in  time  to  secure  berths  "six"  and  "  seven," 
"  eight "  and  "  nine,"  in  the  Pullman.  Shall  we 
say  of  course  Aurelius  was  standing  on  the  plat 
form  ? —  "Here's  your  palace  car,  ladies  and 
gentlemen." 

Of  course  the  palace  was  the  GOLCOXDA. 


204  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

TT  7 HEN  they  arrived  in  Austin  a  month  be 
fore,  they  had  entered  Austin  in  the 
early  morning.  The  ladies  were  then  alone,  and 
rather  doubtful  of  the  adventure  they  were 
essaying ;  the  gentlemen  also  were  alone,  a 
few  days  after,  and  eager  to  join  their  agreeable 
companions.  It  has  been  confessed  already  in 
these  pages,  that,  of  all  the  experiences  of  life  in 
Palaces,  the  morning  hour  is  the  least  agreeable. 
There  is  an  attentive  lackey,  yes  !  But  even  he 
is  engaged  in  making  sixteen  beds  return  to 
their  hiding-places,  and  in  making  sixteen  sofas 
appear  in  their  places.  There  is  no  turbaned 
page  with  soft  step  to  bring  you  a  cup  of  coffee. 
There  is  no  luxurious  seat  on  an  open  veranda 
covered  with  honeysuckle  and  quamoclit.  There 
is  close  air  without,  and  faintness,  hunger,  and 
general  misery  within,  till  one  can  touch  his 
mother  earth,  as  Antaeus  did,  and  breathe  his 
mother  air.  Then  one  returns  to  the  Palace 
after  he  has  breakfasted  to  find  all  changed :  he 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  205 

is  ready  for  empire,  and  another  day  of  monarch 
life  begins. 

As  all  of  the  four  whose  fortunes  we  follow 
had  first  entered  Austin  from  the  east  in  such 
guise  of  the  misery  of  early  morning,  it  followed 
that  there  was  a  surprise  every  minute,  now 
that  they  dashed  eastward,  caught  sight  of  the 
river,  and  through  the  prairies,  with  the  sights 
of  beauty,  which  they  had  not  guessed  at  when 
they  came.  Indeed  —  indeed  —  each  of  the  four 
was  now  in  a  mood,  than  which  earth  has  little 
more  heavenlike ;  and  because  they  were  happy 
already,  they  were  all  the  more  ready  to  enjoy. 

"May  decked  the  world,  and  Arthur  filled  the  throne." 

Hester  almost  sang  these  words  as  they  re 
tired  slowly  from  the  open  door  at  the  rear  of 
the  car,  where  they  had  been  wondering  at  the 
beauty  of  the  cross  lights  and  the  cloud  shadows 
on  the  prairie,  always  so  marvellous. 

"  The  last  day  of  May,"  said  Hiram  Brinker- 
hoff.  "  But  where  is  this  line,  Miss  Hester, 
which  drops  from  you  so  often,  by  night  and 
morning ;  and  is  there  more  of  the  same  poem  ? 
Or  is  it  perhaps  the  beginning  of  an  unpublished 
epic  by  Miss  Sutphen  and  Mr.  Haydock  ? 

'May  decked  the  world,  and  Arthur  filled  the  throne.'" 


206  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

"  There  is  more,  —  and  more  as  good  as  that,  — 
if  you  will  only  search  wisely,  Mr.  Hiram.  Ask 
Effie  there,  and  she  will  repeat  to  you  the  whole 
story  of  two  happy  lovers  in  a  happy  valley,  — 
only  —  "  and  she  stopped. 

"Only,"  said  Effie  bravely,  "that  the  true 
knight  had  to  go  away  to  attend  to  his  distant 
duty,  and  the  fair  lady  had  .to  stay  in  the  valley 
without  him;"  and  then,  more  seriously,  she 
repeated,  — 

"  '  And  I  might  ask  how  more  can  mortals  please 

The  heavens,  than  thankful  to  enjoy  the  earth  ? 
But  through  its  mist,  my  soul,  though  faintly,  sees 

Where  thine  sweeps  on  beyond  this  mountain  girth, 
And  awed  and  dazzled,  bending  I  confess 
Life  may  have  holier  ends  than  happiness.' 

"  You  see,"  she  added  after  a  moment,  "  this 
lady  was  a  princess.  She  had  always  lived  in 
palaces,  and  she  had  always  done  as  she  chose, 
and  had  had  her  own  way,  till  Arthur  came ;  and 
then  she  had  to  do  as  he  chose,  and  let  him  have 
his  own  way,  —  even  when  that  way  took  him 
outside  the  mountain  valley,  and  far  very  far 
from  her." 

"All  the  same,"  said  Fred,  who  would  not 
come  down  from  the  extreme  good-cheer  of  his 
mood,  —  "  all  the  same  no  one  tells  me  who  this 
Arthur  was.  Was  he  in  the  wholesale  drug 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  2O? 

business,  travelling  on  account  of  'Mandrake, 
Bromide,  &  Co.,'  —  and  was  this  palace  in  which 
the  princess  lived  a  palace  on  wheels,  and  did  he 
have  to  return  to  Caradoc,.  that  the  firm  might 
be  able  to  answer  his  orders  for  the  fall  trade,  — 
or  was  he  in  the  quack-nostrum  line,  'I  beg  par 
don,  in  the  Panacea  business,  travelling  for  Row 
land,  Crespigny,  &  Co.,  —  and  had  he  heard  that 
another  house  was  introducing  a  new  nervine  ? " 

"  He  shall  not  be  jeered  at,"  said  Hester  re 
proachfully,  "though  he  certainly  was  a  travel 
ling  gentleman,"  she  added.  "  If  there  are  any 
knights  of  this  generation  who  have  not  read 
Bulwer's  '  King  Arthur,'  it  is  time  they  did. 
For  rather  staid,  old-fashioned  poetry,  —  a. little 
machine-built,  but  good  in  doctrine,  and  some 
times  bubbling  into  the  supreme  article  — it  is 
very  good  travelling  reading  for  four  wandering 
lovers." 

"  We  will  read  it  aloud  between  St.  Louis  and 
New  York,"  cried  Hiram.  And  he  took  a  tele 
graph  blank  from  the  ready  rack,  --—  and,  to  his 
correspondent  at  St  Louis,  wrote,  — 

"  Bring  me  Bulwer's  '  King  Arthur '  at  evening  train  on 
second." 

"Tell  me,"  said  he,  "that  King  Arthur  also 
shall  not  be  enthroned  in  the  GOLCONDA." 


208  WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES 

"  It  is  all  very  fine,"  said  Hester,  as  he  came 
back  from  forwarding  his  despatch,  at  Hemp- 
stead, —  "and  I  am  sure  I  like  to  imagine  that 
Erfie's  real  name  is  Aegle,  and  that  mine  is  Elaine, 
but,  all  the  same,  I  do  not  believe  that  Elaine  or 
Queen  Guinever  herself  ever  had  a  horned  frog." 

"  Had  what  ? " 

"  Had  a  horned  frog  !  Did  you  never  see  one  ? " 
And  she  opened  her  handkerchief  ;  and  gently 
stroked  one  of  the  weird  little  monsters,  which, 
while  the  gentlemen  were  absent,  she  had  bought 
of  a  boy  at  the  car  window. 

They  both  affected  horror  at  sight  of  the  little 
wretch. 

"IJe  is  a  hundred  thousand  million  billion 
years  old,"  cried  Haydock.  "  He  was  made  be 
fore  evolution  began.  The  evening  and  the 
morning  were  the  first  day." 

"  Aegle  was  stroking  him  when  Arthur  bade 
her  good-by  in  the  happy  valley,"  said  Hiram. 
"  He  carries  you  back  behind  all  the  Babels." 

"  Some  merits  he  has  which  later  times  have 
lost,"  said  Hester,  "  for  he  needs  no  food,  and  I 
believe  no  water. 

'With  temperance  he  both  eats  and  drinks, 
And  gives  the  poor  the  whole.'  ", 

"  He  is  no  more  a  frog  than  I  am,"  cried  Effie, 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  209 

with  her  naturalist  skill.  "  He  is  a  lizard  of  the 
genus  PJirynosomu,  whatever  that  hiay  mean. 
He  is  Phrynosoma  orbicular  e,  because,  if  you 
please,  his  body  is  so  orbicular.  And  dear  old 
Phil  will  be  glad  to  have  him  to  catch  flies  in  the 
green-house,  and  to  amuse  the  boys  :  they  have  all 
seen  him  in  the  Iconographic  Cyclopaedia.  I  am 
not  sure  but  he  is  cornuta  and  not  orbiculare" 

"  Do  you  say  he  eats  nothing  ?  " 

"  Oh,  not  for  a  week  -or  two,  if  his  keepers  are 
on  their  last  greenbacks,  as  we  are." 

"  He  looks  as  if  he  had  eaten  nothing  since 

'  This  fair  world  first  rounded  to  the  view.' 

You  will  never  tell  me  that  Texas  is  a  new 
country  again." 

"Can  anybody  tell  me,"  said  Effie,  as  the 
train  moved  away  from  the  station,  and  they 
began  their  northward  way,  —  "  why  Texas  was 
left  out  till  the  very  end  of  time.  When  such 
crags  and  deserts  as  those  of  Tommy's  rocks 
in  Roxbury,  and  the  marshes  of  Cambridgeport 
have  been  peopled,  —  why  has  this  lovely  Texas 
with  these 

'  Enamelled  plains  so  far  extending,' 
been   left  desert,  and  without   any  people   but 
these  ante-creationals." 

14 


210  WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES 

"Philip  the  Second,  my  dear,"  said  Hester. 
"  Fred  has  "been  coaching  me." 

"  Pope  Alexander  the  Sixth,"  said  Fred.  '/  Hi 
ram  has  been  lecturing  to  me."  ? 

"  Laziness  and  greed,"  said  Brinkerhoff :  "  there 
was  never  such  a  horrible  illustration  of  bad 
government." 

"Poor  La  Salle,"  he  continued,  "after  he  had 
discovered  the  course  of  the  Mississippi,  came 
out  here  with  a  colony,  — ->  and  here  they  killed 
him :  he  must  have  crossed  our  line,  I  fancy,  not 
so  very  far  from  where  we  are." 

"  That  gave  France  a  right  here,  if  there  were 
any  right;  and  that  made  Spain  afraid  that 
France  would  come  near  her  silver  mines  yonder. 
And  so,  as  Hester  says,  Spain  enacted  that 
neither  oil-olive,  nor  luscious  grape,  neither  wheat 
nor  maize,  nor  sugar  nor  cotton,  should  grow  on 
these  thousands  upon  thousands  of  thousands  of 
acres.  Better  they  should  lie  waste  for  ever, 
than  that  the  most  Catholic  King's  people  and 
the  most  Christian  King's  people  should  come 
too  near  together." 

"  What  broke  all  that  down  ? " 

"  To  answer  in  very  short  metre,  —  Philip 
Nolan  broke  it  down,  so  Judge  Harford  here 
says.  If  I  could  make  you  stop  two  days  longer, 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  211 

we  would  go  over  to  Waco  yonder,  and  find  his 
grave,  and  plant  lilies  upon  it." 

"  And  I  might  liberate  my  frog  there." 
But  there  was  not  much  more  talk.  A  sharp 
thunder-storm  struck  them  as  it  grew  dark,  and 
there  was  little  for  it,  but  to  look  at  this  fork  of 
the  "  flames  of  the  lightning,"  and  to  wonder  at 
that  crash,  till  Aurelius  changed  the  day  pal 
ace  into  a  night  palace. 

And  when  they  woke  again,  they  were  cross 
ing  the  Red  River,  more  than  two  hundred 
miles  higher  up  than  they  had  left  it  at  Shreve- 
port.  And  how  red  it  is!  almost  vermilion! 
And  this  country,  too,  "  the  garden  of  Texas  "  as 
they  were  assured,  was  laughing  with  beauty. 

And  then,  not  long  after,  they  bade  Texas 
good-by.  And  now  they  were  in  the  Indian 
Territory.  And  all  that  day  —  stopping  not  once 
an  hour— they  were  speeding  north,  with  this 
same  eager  flight,  through  the  rich  green  of  the 
prairie  land,  of  wealth  which  cannot  be  told  ; 
and  for  an  hour  at  a  time  there  would  be  no  sigh 
of  man  but  the  track  of  the  railway  ! 

"  Oh  dear,  oh  dear  !  "  sighed  Effie,  "  if  my  poor 
Shays,  and  Donavans  and  Mrs.  Murphy  and  the 
Holden  boys  were  only  here,  instead  of  starving 
in  Lucas  Street  and  in  Oswego  Street,  instead 


212          WONDERFUL    ADVENTURES 

of  drinking  in  Sands  Court,  and  dying  of  cholera 
infantum  in  Swett.  Street." 

"  Do  you  know  why  they  are  not  here,  and 
why  they  cannot  be  here  ?  Do  you  know  why 
Rothschild,  with  all  his  wealth,  cannot  buy  an 
acre  of  this  land  ? "  This  was  Hiram's  question. 

"  Cannot !  I  thought  money  could  do  every 
thing.  It  could  at  Fort  Sill  yonder,"  and  Hester 
pointed  over  her  shoulder  westward. 

"  Cannot,"  said  Fred  Haydock,  laughing,  "  un 
less  Baron  Rothschild  married  a  Cherokee  lady ! 
Then  he  might  buy  till  he  were  tired,  —  or,  in 
deed,  have,  without  buying,  I  believe." 

Then  Hiram  explained  that  the  United  States 
government  had  bound  itself  by  treaty  with  the 
Cherokees  and  Chickasaws  and  Choctaws,  and 
Creeks  and  Seminoles  and  Muscogees,  —  never 
to  sell  any  of  this  land,  as  long  as  the  winds 
should  blow  or  the  waters  flow.  He  explained 
that,  all  told,  there  were- not  a  hundred  thousand 
of  these  Indians.  But  that,  such  is  the  force  of 
treaties,  these  hundred  thousand  Indians,  who 
are  not  hunters,  generally  speaking,  but  have 
settled  down  to  farming,  have  a  matchless  terri 
tory,  a  third  part  the  size  of  France,  given  to 
them  ;  which  is,  acre  for  acre,  far  more  produc 
tive  than  France  is.  He  explained  that  no  one, 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  21$ 

not  an  Indian  of  another  tribe  even,  might  enter 
here,  because  the  United  States  had  made  these 
l  treaties  with  these  people. 

"  Will  any  one  explain  to  me,"  said  Effie,  "  in 
what  this  policy  differs  from  that  of  Philip  the 
Second  ? " 

But  nobody  explained. 

All  the  same,  the  train  dashed  on.  There  is 
something  almost  weird  and  uncanny  in  this 
sailing  through  oceans  of  green,  only  broken  by 
pretty  copses  of  wood  or  gentle  swells  of  land, 
without  a  fence,  a  house,  a  barn,  a  road  beside 
that  you  travel  on,  without  cow  or  horse  or 
sheep.  Only  an  unused  fertile  world  waiting  for 
men  ! 

But  at  every  station-house,  there  would  be  one 
or  two  men  waiting,  and  sometimes  a  passenger. 
They  must  have  come  from  somewhere.  And 
once  there  was  a  college,  after  they  came  into 
the  Cherokee  country.  But  Hester  confesses 
that,  in  her  journal,  it  is  not  the  political  econo 
my  that  is  noted,  nor  the  advance  of  the  Chero- 
kees  in  education,  but  that  good  supper  at 
Muskogee  ! 

On  and  on !  Conundrums  as  it  grew  dark  in 
the  evening  ;  an  effort  to  talk  with  the  reticent 
half-breed  lady  who  came  into  the  car  on  her 


214  WONDERFUL   ADVENTURES 

way  northward,  where  she  had  a  daughter  at 
school  in  Ohio.  And  then,  all  the  light  melts 
away,  though  we  are  in  June  ;  and,  as  they  be 
gin  to  be  drowsy,  even  the  substantial  fabric 
of  the  palace  melts  away,  the  sofas  are  gone,  the 
people  are  gone,  and  "  Six  and  Seven "  have 
been  "  made  up "  by  the  faithful  Aurelius,  and 
the  tired  travellers  "  turn  in." 

Asleep  and  unconscious  they  pass  through 
Kansas,  where  in  old  times  their  own  brothers 
had  fought  and  conquered.  They  wake  to  an 
other  climate,  and  another  vegetation.  They 
are  in  the  South  no  longer.  They  are  in  a  des 
ert  no  longer.  They  are  forging  on  and  on, 
down  the  valleys  that  lead  to  the  Missouri,  with 
here  a  town  and  there  a  town,  and  all  the  first 
scars  of  man's  conflict  with  nature. 

What  seems  strangest  of  all,  in  such  a  journey, 
is  the  setting  back  of  the  orchards  and  farm 
lands  some  three  weeks,  between  your  night  and 
your  morning.  When  you  pass  in  a  day  a  beau 
tiful  desert  like  the  Indian  Territory,  so  as  to 
leave,  as  these"  people  had  done,  the  gardens  of 
northern  Texas  on  Tuesday  morning  to  come 
into  those  of  central  Missouri  on  Wednesday 
morning,  with  no  fine  gradation  by  the  way,  but 
by  one  sudden  leap,  it  is  all  the  more  strange. 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  21$ 

They  had  a  Sunday-school  picnic  tumbled  in 
on  the  train  somewhere,  a  strawberry  party  or 
some  such  entertainment.  And  when,  at  Jeffer 
son,  Hiram  rushed  out  to  forage,  he  was  led 
away  by  the  throng.  For  he  acted  on  Jacob 
Abbot's  direction  to  Rollo,  for  travelling,  "  Go 
where  the  rest  go."  But,  as  he  soon  found  that, 
if  he  went  to  hear  the  Rev.  Abner  Goosh  make 
a  "  few  remarks  "  to  the  children,  he  should  not 
rejoin  his  own  party,  he  was  seen  by  them  rush 
ing  wildly  back  to  the  station-house,  only  in  time 
to  seize  from  a  licensed  dealer  a  loaf  of  bread, 
to  wave  it  in  the  air  over  the  head  of  a  deacon, 
so  as  to  attract  the  licensed  dealer's  attention, 
and  to  deposit,  as  probable  pay,  two  nickels  on 
the  counter.  Even  with  these  abridgments  of 
the  process  of  bargaining,  Hiram  returned  to 
the  GOLCONDA  only  as  she  began  to  move. 

"  It  was,"  he  said,  "  as  Miles  Standish  took  the 
corn,  and  left  in  its  place  a  leather  jerkin,  though 
he  saw  no  salvages.'* 

So  this  large  loaf  was  to  be  their  lunch,  for 
they  had  voted  not  to  dine  till  they  came  to  St. 
Louis.  Then  was  it  that  the  innate  hospitality 
appeared,  of  those  who  live  in  Palaces.  The 
Russian  gentleman  from  Alaska,  who  had  come 
in,  in  the  night,  offered  caviare,  the  Mexican  gen- 


2l6  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

tleman,  who  had  been  a  fellow  passenger  all  the 
way  from  Austin,  offered  chocolate,  the  half- 
breed  lady  offered  butter,  which  was  of  all  the 
sweeter  taste,  because  it  was  Cherokee  butter 
from  a  Cherokee  cow.  Knives,  forks,  spoons, 
vodka  if  they  would  have  had  it,  nay,  prob 
ably,  saki  from  Japan.  So  our  friends  made  a 
merry  picnic,  from  a  table  served  by  half  the 
world. 

"  Do  you  remember  in  the  '  Evenings  at  Home ' 
a  Presbyterian  offered  her  smelling-bottle,  and  a 
Quaker  ran  for  the  doctor  ?  " 

"Do  I  remember  it?  It  comes  down  like  a 
forgotten  prophecy  of  the  kingdom  coming ! 
But  I  can  see  now  the  broad-brimmed  man,  in 
the  picture.  The  only  time,  I  think  that  I  ever 
saw  a  Quaker  run,  always  excepting  Obed  Macy 
when  we  played  football  in  college." 

And  now  they  were  by  the  Southern  side  of 
the  Missouri.  The  great  "  rampage "  was  not 
over,  on  which  they  had  all  four  floated,  two 
months  before. 

"  Since  we  met,  I  have  been  reading  La  Salle's 
account  of  this  very  'Muddy'  River,  Pekatonoui 
they  called  it,  which  meant  muddy." 

"  Men  change,  but  rivers  do  not.  But  think, 
—  I  suppose  he  was  half  a  year  coming  here 


OF  A   PULLMAN.  21  / 

from  Canada,  and  when  shall  we  cross  the  Ni 
agara  ? " 

"  Before  we  wake  on  Thursday  morning  ! " 

"  That  is  flying,  indeed  !  " 

And  at  St.  Louis  the  faithful  and  hospitable 
Jabez  Cottingham  appeared,  with  the  needed 
"  King  Arthur."  Surely  they  would  stop  for  a  few 
days.  No !  not  they.  They  were  homeward  bound, 
and  they  could  only  stop  for  the  supper,  which  was 
their  dinner,  and  then  on  again  in  the  GOLCONDA. 
For  the  good  fortune  of  this  particular  visit  had 
ordered  her  back  to  New  York  again. 

So  they  crossed,  as  day  paled,  the  wonderful 
bridge  ;  but  of  Illinois  they  can  tell  little,  for 
they  slept  as  they  swept  through. 

"  Illinois,"  said  Hiram,  "  means  '  men.'  The 
natives  here  would  not  acknowledge  that  there 
were  any  others."  And,  when  they  breakfasted 
in  that  weird,  many-landish  breakfast-room  at 
Chicago,  he, told  where  that  word  "Chicago"  ap 
pears  first  in  literature.  It  was  at  a  great  council 
which  Tonti  held  in  1659,  when  chiefs  from 
Chicago  were  made  to  give  in  their  fealty  to  Le 
Grand  Monarque,  Louis  XIV.  Does  some  Chi 
cago  King  of  Corn  and  Corners  think  of  that 
some  day,  as  he  walks  through  the  battle  gallery 
of  republican  Versailles  ? 


218  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

On  and  on,  for  ever  on !  We  oil  the.  wheels. 
We  feed  the  men  and  women.  We  water  the 
engine.  But  that  is  all,  and  we  rush  through 
Michigan  for  another  day. 

"  Si  peninsulam  amoenam  quaeris,  circum- 
spice."  This  is  the  droll  motto  of  the  State. 
Droll  but  very  true !  Names  all  mixed  together, 
from  all  the  eras  of  history,  —  Niles,  Kalamazoo, 
Homer,  Jackson,  Ann  Arbor,  Ypsilanti,  and  De 
troit  !  A  well-read  man  he,  profound  in  the  phi 
losophy  of  history,  who  will  weave  together,  in 
the  damask  web  of  a  day's  story,  the  threads 
which  are  spun  out  by  the  associations  of  those 
names !  And  at  Detroit,  such  a  sunset !  and 
such  a  supper !  It  is  your  last  of  Western  pro 
fusion,  Hester  and  Efne,  Hiram  and  Fred ! 

Night  drops  a  curtain  over  Canada,  but  still 
we  rush  on !  Yes,  we  do  not  even  wake  to  see 
Niagara  in  the  morning.  We  do  not  really  wake 
till  we  breakfast  at  Rochester  ! 

And  all  that  day,  as  our  little  party  were 
whirled  on  in  their  palace  over  that  New  York 
Central  Road,  which  Mr.  Howells  has  made  clas 
sical  for.  lovers  and  for  travellers,  they  had  to 
wonder  at  the  agriculture  of  the  North,  as  if  they 
had  come  from  another  world.  Two  cows  only 
together,  or  at  most  ten  or  twelve !  How  lonely 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  2 1 9 

they  must  be !  and  how  small  these  fields  !  how 
narrow  all  these  measures,  to  people  who  had 
forgotten  fences,  and  felt  as  if  all  men  owned,  if 
they  would  take  it,  all  the  world ! 

And  if  they  felt  this  in  New  York,  how  much 
more  when  they  came  to  the  gardens — farms  no 
longer  —  of  their  dear  Massachusetts  !  But  how 
delicious  home  was !  How  they  rushed  from 
window  to  window  to  see  a  mountain  or  cascade  ! 
How  they  sympathized  with  the  little  boy  from 
Illinois,  when  he  called  his  mother  to  show  to 
her  the  marvel,  which  he  saw  for  the  first  time, 
— a  Yankee  "stone  wall"! 

On  and  on  !  Night  settled  on  them  at 
Palmer.  Still  it  was  on  and  on  !  And  when,  at 
last,  they  swept  into  the  sight  of  Charles  River 
by  the  Arsenal  in  Watertown,  as  it  lay  there 
beautiful  under  the  moon  so  nearly  full,  the 
Tenore  Assoluto  of  the  party  sang  the  last  song 
of  the  Palace  Journey. 

At  Springfield  they  had  lost  most  of  their 
companions,  with  eager  goodbyes  and  promises 
of  mutual  visits.  At  Worcester,  that  nice  Aus 
tralian  lady,  with  her  five  boys,  who  had  come 
through  from  San  Francisco  by  palace,  left  them 
that  she  might  go  on  to  Halifax,  by  the  route 
which  leaves  Boston  out  in  the  cold.  So  was  it 


220  WONDERFUL  ADVENTURES 

that  our  friends  were  all  alone  between  Worces 
ter  and  Boston.  For  the  GOLCONDA  did  not  reg 
ularly  belong  on  that  line,  nor  do  I  know  how  it 
came  there. 

As  they  swept  by  the  Arsenal  at  Wratertown, 
and  the  moon  shone  brightly  on  the  river, 
Hiram  broke  out,  as  of  old  on  the  Juniata,  into 
singing :  — 


I  sang  in  the  daylight,  I  sing  in  the  dark, 

I  sing  by  Charles  River,  I  sang  by  San  Marc ; 

I  sang  in  the  mesquit,  until  the  woods  rang  — 
By  the  blue  Juniata  I  rode  and  I  sang. 

From  the  land  of  the  olive,  the  orange,  and  vine, 
The  mesquit  sent  love  to  the  cedar  and  pine. 

The  land  of  the  jasmine,  the  myrtle,  and  rose, 
Has  sent  my  true  love  to  the  land  of  the  snows. 

The  land  of  the  sunset  that's  glowing  afar, 
Has  sent  my  true  love  to  the  cold  northern  star. 

But  at  this  moment  all  romance  ceased.     A 
belated  baggage  agent  came  into  the  palace  for 


OF  A    PULLMAN.  221 

orders.  "  Baggage  taken  to  any  part  of  the  city. 
What  hotel,  Sir  ?  " 

And  the  glamour  of  the  orange  and  vine  left 
them ;  and,  as  they'  saw  the  gas  lights  of  the 
Western  Avenue  and  Beacon  Street,  they  knew 
that  the  journey  of  the  dear  GOLCONDA  was 
ended. 

"  Dear,  dear  Philip  !  and  are  the  children  all 
well  ?  " 

"  Well  and  hearty,  —  and  you  ?  " 

"All  well!  we  are  all  well!  This  is  Hiram 
—  I  mean  this  is  Mr.  Brinkerhoff,  and  this  is 
Mr.  Haydock." 

And  Philip  had  kissed  Hester  Sutphen  al 
ready. 


THE    END. 


Cambridge  :   Press  of  John  Wilson  &  Son. 


TOWN    AND    COUNTRY    SERIES. 


A  WINTER  STORY. 

BY'  MISS    PEARD, 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  ROSE  GARDEN,"   "UNAWARES,"   "THORPE  REGIS." 

"The  author  of  'The  Rose  Garden'  has  written  a  fresh  novel, 
which  Roberts  Brothers  have  just  published  in  their  'Town  and 
Country  Series,'  under  the  title  'A  Winter  Story.'  The  volumes 
of  this  series  are  well  printed,  tastefully  bound  in  cloth,  with  appro 
priate  designs  stamped  on  the  cover,  and  are  sold  at  a  dollar  each." 

"Another  volume  of  the  'Town  and  Country  Series'  contains 
the  latest  of  Miss  Peard's  pretty  novelettes.  '  A  Winter  Story '  is 
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awares.'  Whoever  has  read  the  former  will  seek  to  know  what  this 
pleasing  writer  has  to  say,  in  her  idyllic  way,  about  love  and  other 
kindred  matters,  in  the  present  volume.  The  scene  is  laid  in  an 
English  village,  but  deals  with  uncommon  people  in  very  peculiar 
circumstances." 

"We  confess  to  a  liking  for  this  'Winter  Story'  of  hers  which 
possesses  a  good  deal  of  originality  and  ingenuity.  It  is  a  thought 
ful  tale,  with  a  good  deal  more  in  it  than  appears  at  first  sight  on  the 
surface.  It  is  a  story  which  actually  grows  in  favor  with  the  reader, 
and  the  interest  is  well  kept  up.  Miss  Peard  is  making  strides  in 
her  profession,  and  each  new  novel  is  better  than  her  last.  We  can 
commend  this  latest  edition  of  the  '  Town  and  Country  Series '  to 
lovers  of  a  healthy  tone  of  fiction." 


Our  publications  are  to  be  had  of  all  booksellers.     When  not 
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ROBERTS    BROTHERS,  Publishers, 

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PUBLISHERS'   ADVERTISEMENT. 


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THE    "NO    NAME    SERIES." 

"LEIGH  HUNT,  in  his  *  Indicator  J  has  a  pleasant  chapter 
on  the  difficulty  he  encountered  in  seeking  a  suitable  and  fresh 
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depend  solely  on  the  writer's  ability  to  catch  and  retain  the 
reader's  interest.  Several  of  the  most  distinguished  writers 
of  American  fiction  have  agreed  to  contribute  to  the  Series, 
the  initial  volume  of  which  is  now  in  press.  Its  appearance 
will  certainly  be  awaited  with  curiosity." 


The  plan  thus  happily  foreshadowed  will  be  immediately 
inaugurated  by  the  publication  of  "  MERCY  PHILBRICK'S 
CHOICE,"  from  the  pen  of  a  well-known  and  successful  writer 
of  fiction. 

It  is  intended  to  include  in  the  Series  a  volume  of  anonymous 
poems  from  famous  hands,  to  be  written  especially  for  it. 

The  "  No  Name  Series  "  will  be  issued  at  convenient  inter 
vals,  in  handsome  library  form,  i6mo,  cloth,  price  $1.00  each. 

ROBERTS   BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS. 

BOSTON,  Midsummer,  1876. 


